"They are Dreaming" is part of a series of portraits, each person dreaming and aspiring towards a large life goal or principle. As part of the collection, each character will have three large collage like prints that are one of a kind, representing each of their dreams using different elements.

 

Each portrait is then released by itself as a series, and each element of their dreams (all the smaller stamps making up the collage) are then also released as a limited edition series.

 

Since starting the business of making and selling my work, I have become very interested in goal setting, both on a larger and smaller scale. I wanted a project where I could explore the core ideas and values that people aspire to (normally dictated by the society we have grown up in) visually.

 

I have a longstanding practice of collage. Collage for me is a revelatory process, as unexpected juxtapositions, and the reasons for the decisions I make while putting it together only start making sense towards the end, as the bigger picture gets built. It allows me to pursue my instinct, which ultimately reveals subconscious beliefs and ideas I may have through the final image. You can go to this blog where I have written about my collage practice, and discussed the history of collage and photomontage.

 

Therefore, I approached this series in this way in order to slowly reveal to myself and the viewer what power, love, or money actually look like. By combining separate elements I believed represented power, money or love, I hoped to unravel society's constructs when it comes to these themes (i.e. - why am I drawn to the images I am choosing, and what do they look like together?), and inspire the viewer to ponder over what each of these concepts might actually look like for themselves.

 

Furthermore, are these things we should even be aspiring to? Arienne clearly already looks powerful to the viewer, Immie might just need to find love within herself, and Virgil looks possessed by his dreams of money.

​

Read more about this series on the Artist blog.