
NEXT LEVEL
The series narrates the journey of an everyman protagonist who practices a deviant lifestyle, experimenting with lewd sexual behaviors with multiple partners, drugs, alcohol and various proclivities which lack any particular moral compass. Unexpectedly, he falls in love. It rattles him to the core and gives his life a structured purpose. However, the drive of new romance does not endure, and he becomes disenchanted. The relationship ends in dissolution, and he finds himself unable to move on or form new trust in other love interests. This is his rite of passage, the death of idealism. These are two of seven pieces from this series, and they represent the different stages of romantic evolution and experience in a relationship.
Each piece, or level, is named after a coding language and also parallels a different level from TRON, the arcade game. They are meant to be an homage to grid aesthetic and an application of the motif of 'advancing to the next level' in video games. The assumption is that with the completion of each level, one comes closer to victory, but the reality is that the completion of each level is really just advancement toward death.
I have thrust the heads, or busts, of older historical figures against a more contemporary setting to illustrate the truth that these ancient inventors, philosophers and creators are not separate from ourselves, as we are all joined by the universality of romantic experience. The times are dissimilar, but the feelings are not.
The head images are sourced from various books and journals that were cut, scanned and collaged into a digital illustration. Each piece explores negative space while utilizing bold, vibrant colors and visceral, unpleasant imagery. The size of the pieces evokes a grandness of scope, the idea being to draw the audience in while simultaneously overwhelming them. Each piece is printed with archival giclée pigment inks on high quality canvas stretched to wood frame.


Each piece, or level, is named after a coding language and also parallels a different level from TRON, the arcade game. They are meant to be an homage to grid aesthetic and an application of the motif of 'advancing to the next level' in video games. The assumption is that with the completion of each level, one comes closer to victory, but the reality is that the completion of each level is really just advancement toward death.

I have thrust the heads, or busts, of older historical figures against a more contemporary setting to illustrate the truth that these ancient inventors, philosophers and creators are not separate from ourselves, as we are all joined by the universality of romantic experience. The times are dissimilar, but the feelings are not.

The head images are sourced from various books and journals that were cut, scanned and collaged into a digital illustration. Each piece explores negative space while utilizing bold, vibrant colors and visceral, unpleasant imagery. The size of the pieces evokes a grandness of scope, the idea being to draw the audience in while simultaneously overwhelming them. Each piece is printed with archival giclée pigment inks on high quality canvas stretched to wood frame.

Basic: Plaguing the Treasure Cave

Cobol: Symphony Chamber of Babylon

Assembly: The Wages of Bonds & Backbones

Algol: Ripen the Belly of Thieves

Fortran: Crusades of the Lovelorn

Snobol: Snobol: Flourishing from a Holiday
