Alexdrina Chong: Axiomatic Wisdom
Artist(s):
Title:
- Axiomatic Wisdom
Exhibition:
Medium:
- Photoshop with Wacom tablet, inkjet print
Size:
- 32" x 57"
Category:
Artist Statement:
As a graphic designer, I work with themes and concepts. There’s always a struggle between the balance of clarity and personal expression. However, when I draw, the best of me arrives when I manage to simply detach from this balance. As all my “artistic” training becomes inert, the iridescent chaos of the mind lights up the space for a quiescent dialogue between the subject (my drawing) and me. When working with other media, technical issues, quite often interrupt the flow of my expression. Trials and failures eventually discourage the process and distance me from the impetus to create. Surprisingly, this obstacle is removed when I work primarily with digital media, especially when I draw with a digital apparatus such as a Wacom tablet.
Even though most of my works are non-representational in nature, within the drawings one can find words and other indications of the sources that have indirectly influenced the process of creation. Axiomatic Wisdom is a piece that was done while I was having a conversation online with a friend from Russia and listening to a live report on the disappointing 2004 election results. Our conversation revolved around the topic of unilateral and axiomatic thinking in American society. However, there were other levels of the story going on in my mind, overlapping with the conversation and subconsciously illustrated in the composition.
I believe my work introduces a different dimension to both digital artists and artists in “traditional” media simply because the expression manages to transcend the medium. A lot of digital artists are very medium-driven. My works simply illustrate the dialogue between the subject matter and myself.
Technical Information:
This piece was created in Photoshop using a Wacom tablet (Graphire). The intention was to create an image that has an ink-drawing or etched look. Photoshop has numerous applications that allow the artist to create effects needed for this approach. One can create different brushes and textures to achieve certain effects. Having control over the sizes of the brushes is a great advantage for the artist. It supports experimentation with different single-brush textures and strokes. The layering application, on the other hand, allows the artist to play with layering imagery (textures, typography, etc) to create an ink smearing and running effect.
