ZAN
ARTIST STATEMENT
In my artwork, the idea is always key, above aesthetic results and medium. This is not to say my works are random and unplanned, rather they are organic and spontaneous, each project slipping in between materials and outcomes, whilst retaining the integrity of the idea or concept. Examples of materials I often use in my work include live animals, medical equipment, found objects, my body, sound and insects.
Due to this my work takes on many forms, from painting to sculpture, sound pieces to performances, often I combine many practices to create grand installations / performances and fill rooms with my creations. I like to create an immersive and stimulating experience for the audience.
I like to hold a looking glass for the audience to experiences that are considered distasteful or unpleasant, from sexual deviances to violence and experimentation, but in a way which is both unexpected and almost whimsical.
In my work I explore the gap between the terrible and the fabulous, the grotesque and the theatrical, pushing beauty until it becomes ugly and exaggerating the ugly until it becomes beautiful. I explore how wonderful things can come out of horrific experiences and visa versa. I draw heavily from my own experiences of childhood, mental illness and trauma, and the good things that have emerged from the pain.
My main influences are taken from my own past and artists that also evoke a sense of disturbed nostalgia, such as George Shaw, as well as artists who make the grotesque beautiful, such as Mat Collishaw and Polly Morgan, who uses taxidermy to explore ideas – something with which I am also interested in. My performances are inspired in part by Marina Abramovic, who always pushes her ideas and body as far and she can.
