As a child I was fascinated by folded inkblots: seemingly random symmetrical splashes on a page that encourage the imagination to explore the unknown. Some believe our perceptions of the inkblots reflect our psychological and emotional state, and although that may be true to a degree, it seems somewhat dubious that a formalized interpretation of responses was used as evidence of a personality type. Perhaps our need to categorize can at times be misleading. As individuals we are a fusion of our abilities, potential and experience that interacts with our place and circumstance. This fusion, these qualities that define us are often more ephemeral and complex than a "personality type" can adequately summarize.
I believe the interpretation of images and dreams should be a more expansive process that does not assert one particular path as more truthful over another, nor ascribe importance to a particular judgment about our responses. The inkblot's value is that it spurs creative freedom and allows us to become open to our often hidden inner world. Hidden to ourselves as much as to others...
The Fog of Dream is an image of luminous light, dull-blue and darkness. It is comprised of four identical quarters that are mirrored then seamlessly joined. Despite being aware of this artifice we view the image as a single entity and begin to read its forms:
The name of an image provides its context. Choosing a name is, for me, of special significance. It centres the image's purpose from an originator's point of view. That does not mean it will be viewed in a similar way by others, but a name does assert the intentions, and perhaps hints at the thoughts of the originator.
The Fog of Dream is more ambiguous in its mood than perhaps the majority of my artwork. The dynamic between light and dark in the image above has an intensity, perhaps because of the indistinct animal-like forms and human-like figures that the mind begins to make out.
Fog is a collection of liquid water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Thicker than mist, fog is more difficult to penetrate with the eye. Fog is replete with water and vital for life. It is both a danger and a fascination. When we find ourself in fog, when we dream, our world is transformed...
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