Valerie Christell

Artist Statement:

“Humankind and Nature”  

I create photomontages and images in which I aim to capture rich textures and dynamic lines in environments and emotional gestures of figures. My work expresses the symbiotic relationship between humankind and the environment and the nature of human beings’ introspection about it. Foremost in my thoughts is that the inner structure of the mind’s neural nets and the body’s circulatory system are dynamically reflected in the nature’s structures and textures. “We are a part of, not apart from, the rest of nature.” Anil Seth Following that is the concept that humankind’s behavior negatively impacts nature, which then impacts humankind. 

The slats that exist in varying forms in some of my works are elements that speak metaphorically about the blinders humans have toward reality. This points to the psychology that enables us to not only fill in the blanks with our own viewpoints but allows us to ignore/block out clear lines of facts. “We don’t passively perceive the world; we actively generate it.” Anil Seth My work’s imagery also at times stretches the understanding of the existence of the figure (the self) as the merging of figure and ground moves the imagery toward abstraction.

The photomontage process enables me to quickly capture my stream of consciousness as I consider the existential in our interconnectedness with the environment.