Amanda Mulcahy

Within the last year I have focused my attention on generating a body of work to thoroughly examine ideas influenced by my studies in geology. I was interested in exploring the proposed new geological time period known as the Anthropocene. Since the early 1800s, people have dramatically impacted the Earth's surface. For better or worse many substances have been extracted and deposited; so much so that the most recent layers have unique characteristics among known strata. Along what started as a similar vein but later developed into an entirely different beast was a series of oil paintings where I choose to explore the face. Instead of using the traditional portrait format, in the Visagescape series I approach the face as a landscape and manipulate the object-environment relationship. The closeness of the images transforms the facial features into geological features.By focusing tightly around an image that is known to be small I can take away its usual context and make it become more powerful. No matter what imagery I use, the forms are ultimately a vehicle for color. I often play complimentary colors together for strong visual contrasts as well as pair richly painted surfaces with areas of transparency for a more complex paint space. I explored these ideas more in my most recent paintings. I layer images of a human face with the bodies of animals to further manipulate the effect of scale and nudge the images closer towards abstraction by confusion of information. I have also introduced a vibrant color palette to push these images into a cosmic realm. The journey from my Anthropocene pieces to my latest paintings is my telescoping reflection on the presence of humanity in its place among the history of the earth, ecology and cosmos.