Eastern Landscapes

At some stage in the 21st century, Australia may become a 21st century manifestation of Constantinople where east and west ideas collided to create a civilisation that many would define as one of great enlightenment.

To explore the collisions, I consider real or imagined differences in the western and eastern identities. My aesthetic is influenced by the balance, refinement and stylisation of East Asian ink painting. Within this aesthetic, I use symbolism to reference cultural constructs. Much like the pairing of a gun and a rose creates a certain image that is somewhat ambiguously defined, I use sequences of symbols to create narratives that ask questions about how easterners and westerners define themselves, and define others. This style allows the paintings to be like visual expressions of metaphoric poetry.

Most of the concepts deal with the fluidness between individual and social identities in the eastern hemisphere. From my experience, if you take five Asians you will get five different personalities just as you will get if you take five Australians. However, if you ask a group of Asians and a group of Australians to explain how they are different from the other group, they are likely to define their own group one way and the other group a different way.

To a degree, there is truth in the definitions because they constitute a cultural identity that acts as a model of behaviour. In certain situations, individuals will forgo their individual personality characteristics to adopt the social stereotype. Consequently, it is important to know the stereotype when dealing with individuals that may or may not believe it. If someone believes a stereotype about their own group to be true, more often than not, they will make it true in their own mind and their own behaviour.