Jeff Menzies - Artist Statement & Curriculum Vitae Artist Statement My central concern continues to be the desire to produce sculptures that express, explore and document a personal narrative. From the time that I began making objects, my focus has been in producing sculptural works that explore this. In essence, my work forms a visual journal, and the narrative is found within the materials, process, form, repetition, imagery and composition of the artwork. My intent is to allow the viewer to draw from his or her own personal experience as I have done by using my life experiences in the creation of the work. I use symbols that not only represent occurrences in my life but also create the conditions that allow the viewer to relate to the work. As thinking occurs, the art grows as a reflection of thought. The imagery that I am currently exploring in my sculptural work relates to houses and other architectural forms, boats, gourds and musical instruments. All of which are containing devices. The vessel has been utilized as a signifier for the preservation of memories, a mnemonic device. An image, memory or thought can evoke a work, but it is the process of making, in collaboration with the materials, that propels my work in a certain direction. I believe the more one acts on the subtleties of an idea including the materials and surrounding processes, the more articulate a work will be. I involve myself in reproductive foundry and mold-making processes where I have access to a vocabulary from which to work from. Repetition by the use of a mold or model is intrinsic to my practice, but the sharing of the narratives and the viewers' relationship, reaction and participation with the sculptural forms are of the greatest importance in the development of the concepts. If you wish to download a curriculum vitae, please click here. < back to main page