He Was, 2014

Created as part of my thesis project at Cawthra Park Secondary school in Mississauga, ON. I created this body of work while exploring how television and social media impact the development of a generation.

In an article regarding the Columbine shooting of 1999, it was written “We can perhaps be grateful that the Columbine killers saw themselves in media terms as performers, who chronicled their thoughts and actions in great detail”.

In this acrylic painting, the predominant word is “PERFORMER”, while in reverse, it reads “KILLER”. The two collide in a jumble of letters that don’t make sense, but draw the viewer in with colour and composition, the way that media can draw us in with colourful, sensationalized representations of ideas and beliefs which are false and essentially nonsensical.

Composition inspired by Bruce Nauman. Scroll down further to see some of the process work that went into this painting.