John Nelson
Long before the appearance of writing, figurative and nonfigurative
images were used in pictorial systems of communication. More
than 20,000 years ago, people began to draw patterns of rhythmic
lines, dots, and symbols, arranged in a certain order and with
regular spacing. Though they remain enigmatic, those ancient
signs, like a written or spoken language, infer meaning. In this
sense, lines, polka dots, or other geometric shapes convey a
symbolic value.
Time tests a sign’s ability to inscribe itself into memory. The skull
symbolizes danger, in Christian iconography, it is a “memento
mori”: a stark reminder of the transience of the world. I see my
art as a personal visual language. It exists in a liminal zone, a
shape-shifting space where some things morph into other
things. Fragments of signs and ciphers float like music notes, or
pirouette into ambiguity.