War of the Ants

 

On television sets, static noise is seen by some as flickering bugs, and around the world there are many names for this disrupted signal. The Swedish call it “myrornas krig,” which translates to “war of the ants.” Static noise has always interested me because it’s both comforting in its soothing sound and, at the same time, unnerving in its frenzied action on the screen. 

My process involves a lot of cross-hatching with micron pens creating textures and depth. The textures I create do not represent the textures of the objects, but rather an overall texture of the composition, which resembles a kind of static noise. This labor-intensive way of drawing serves the narrative that runs through my work. Each of these drawings come from my childhood—sweet often juxtaposed with sour memories. 

My more recent works investigate how a person processes childhood memories. The illustrative style coupled with the movement in the objects creates a collision between language and imagery. I aim to express the inexpressible through a child-like cartoon language and the carefully placed objects that seemingly don’t belong together to make new meaning. The work deals with helplessness, coming of age, the fogginess of memories, and my own identity.

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