===========S A R A= H E A R T= B A C O N
========================Artist’s Statement

Social concern, responsibility and the notion that provocative issues can be approached with beauty and sensitivity are the foundations of my work. It is imperative to look closely at the way in which loaded issues, such as gender, class, mass production and consumption, and consumerism are interrelated, approached and discussed. A non-defensive tactic towards conversation is the most productive, enlightening and captivating. Art can provide an alternate viewpoint and therefore, a less volatile environment in which to look at/discuss these social conversations. It is here that there is room for humor, metaphor, beauty, and play in the realm of highly controversial political issues that are typically dealt with in extreme sincerity. I do not wish to take away from the gravity of these issues, but rather look at them from a more humane perspective.

In his book, entitled Ways of Seeing, John Berger suggests that “…when an image is presented as a work of art, the way people look at it is affected by a whole series of learnt assumptions about art. Assumptions concerning: beauty, truth, genius, civilization, form, status, taste, etc.” These assumptions presented by Berger may or may not be in the forefront of viewers’ minds, but nonetheless exist in their psyche. It is my intention to use art as tool for cultivating social discussion and thought. I am interested in that which develops in people’s minds when they are not necessarily aware that a force is acting upon them and their defenses are not triggered. This idea of the fluctuation between the conscious and subconscious is strongly connected to why photography is my primary medium of choice. The excessive amounts of photographic imagery we encounter on a day-to-day basis create a numbing effect towards the medium. Therefore, much of what we absorb exists in an unconscious sphere. Photography is more detached from itself than any other medium – as a result of the flooding of photographic imagery in our society, we do not always immediately recognize what we are seeing or that we are even seeing at all. On the contrary, with the medium of painting, for example, one understands and recognizes that they are looking at “a painting” almost immediately. It is the phenomenon of seeing something, but not consciously seeing it. This detachment from itself is an entrance into the unconscious. It is my hope that my work fluctuates between the conscious and unconscious, becoming a reoccurring thought that increases awareness and elicits conversation subtly and gently.

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