When people first look at my work they usually see a pretty pattern or a texture. But what they are actually seeing is more complicated; it is a view into another world.
When I make art I am creating pieces, fragments of this world. The artwork is not a representation of this place. It actually is part of landscape; as a viewer you are like a god hovering over this world, observing it.
The geology and the archeology develop through layering, time, weather, water, gravity, pollutants act as outside forces that change the place. Chance, disaster, intuition, occupation, arbitrary rules and laws offer additional opportunities for this place to evolve.
I need to work with a lot of materials: watercolor paper, wood, veneer, pencil, ink, gold, market, acrylic, maps, found paper, archival glues, soil, charcoal, conte, foils, plastic parts, polymers, fabrics, etc. The process of developing the fragments involves mark making, cutting, repairing, scratching, staining, connecting, printmaking, dotting, shredding, patching, casting.
Patterns, both natural and man-made, have always mesmerized me and are always present in my work. Pattern exists not just for the love of pattern but moreover because there is pattern in everything and it becomes more evident as we zoom out, or look more keenly to find it.
I am an urban person and I love to travel. Much of my work is inspired by specific observations of places and conditions. I live in a very old part of Los Angeles (Echo Park – Angeleno Heights) where I am always finding inspiration. I have been on two recent trips to South America and another to Indonesia that are giving form to my most recent work that is a bit more graphic.
09/12
Patty Hume | Track
