Restraint - Caged
Restraint - Caged (2008)
11½×18¼ Pastel on Pastel Paper
Original is Sold
In the anonymity of the shadowy darkness, we tend to shed our restraints. We behave in ways we would never do in the daylight. Whether it is our own self-imposed limits or those placed upon us by society, in the darkness, we are freer to let out our inner beast and escape the cage, leap over the fence, or break down the wall. This artwork is part of a series of three works—Caged, Fenced, and Walled—featuring myself as the subject. The series is something a bit different for me. Along with being more conceptual, these are very shadowed pieces with a darker, sexual tone. I tossed out my aversion to working on black paper and found it really aided in achieving a dramatic look. I took my camera into a dark room and just played around with a single light. I ventured out from my usual methods, breaking some of my own restraints, which was, after all, the theme I was going for.
