Emotional Ripples (Symbols)

I began the emotional ripples series in 2003. I intended to isolate emotions, physical states into a definable symbol over time.

The 2013 Oscar-nominated film 'The Past' written and directed by Asghar Farhadi beautifully expresses the complex nature of our relationships over time. The characters relationships and responsibilities were overlapping and confusing. All were looking for something definable, steady, constant, which can never be the case.

We build our Relationships on physical feelings that are also blurred and complex, they originate from different areas of the body and reverberate or ripple through the body for a period. The lines represent time, vibrations or ripples of sensation that have different undertones and intensity.

When in deep meditation I have been aware when a thought has triggered an emotion. Watched in a moment the sensations originating from different parts of the body, watched as it grows and hangs there for a period, then changes and eventually disappears.

These emotional experiences overlap, as one grows and expands others are receding. The subconscious mind ready and prepared for the next trigger.

They remind me of the emojis of today as we try and communicate emotional states and reactions through technology. The artworks are an attempt to locate and single out an emotional state or states and express them in one symbol.