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STATEMENT

As an artist and designer, I am afforded the opportunity to present my unique way of seeing the world around me. Yet my vision of the world is directly linked to a time when I had no vision at all. As a young adult I became blind due to a genetic eye condition called keratoconus, which left me in the dark for over two years. When you are blind, you “see” life as layers of sound and motion, at first disorienting and overwhelming, yet over time, you are able to distinguish each layer, and isolate its distinct qualities. In this way, I try to make each object, person, letterform, or surface reinforce the whole of my visual experience, which I am trying to hold on to.

Another thematic pillar of my recent bodies of work has been deterioration and history. Urban corrosion of objects constitutes a sort of “man made” organic decay. I attempt to create an artificial deterioration using “new” items, making them indistinguishable from antiquated, organic disintegration. I am fascinated with the endless possibilities for discovery and understanding of the self through my research in history. The seeming aesthetic deterioration of the work belies a psychological one – the aesthetic serves as a metaphorical apparatus of thematic intent – the image of self created by the individual when utilizing a historical methodology aimed at the personage, viewing their own chronological, or cyclical natures by identifying a narrative of conscious identity.

During the past several years, a great deal of my work has been an exploration of psychology, history and narrative practices. Much of my recent work has been concerned with the effects of time and place on the psychology of the individual. Having been born and raised in the magnificent, post-industrial city of Saginaw, Michigan, I am interested in the notion of deterioration and urban decomposition. Much of my work for the past several years has concerned the interior landscape, the psychological effects of time on the individual; a corrosion of the mind. These works depict landscapes of imagined, indistinct locations. I am fascinated by invented narratives, and these images were created by attempting to recall places that I have and have not encountered – a travelogue of unexperienced memories.

By utilizing different mediums, I attempt to create a cooperative relationship between word and image, establishing unity between elements, which may seem disparate. Mixed media and multimedia has become, for me, a fluid platform where recurring motifs can resurface through my changing interpretations, opening the door for conceptual ideas.

– Tim Speaker, 2007