Artist Statement (work from 2001 to 2005)
The work illustrates my fascination with the idea of revising the traditional
mosaic in a contemporary approach. My interest in traditional mosaic work
from the Roman era, and in the current digital print media have resulted in
production of these mosaic works of pixilated images. All the images are created
from photographs and are digitally manipulated. Each work consists of thousands
of small, colored ceramic tiles. They are arranged in a grid formation as
pixels are laid out in a digital photo.
As many details of daily life and mythology were depicted in Roman mosaic
works, my work portrays an invented mythology that deals with details of our
contemporary life. Using this juxtaposition, I am concerned with creating
an imaginative narrative that is triggered by the impact of the fast-paced
advancing technology in our every day life. The characters are trapped inside
of a computer. They are finding a way out of the green electronic landscape
of the circuit board just as Alice in Wonderland tries to find her way out.
Events such as power-grid blackouts and the failure of system servers remind
us with our heavy reliance on technology. It is powerful and controlling.
We are vulnerable when the system fails. The narrative that I generate focuses
on the relationship between the human condition and technology in a comical
and satirical way. Who controls whose life? Do we control technology?
Or does technology control us?