Darren McManus
My work concerns the function of myth as a vital form of psychological nutrition and the ability of painting to serve as a vehicle for this in contemporary culture. This investigation is shrouded in mystery, yet if mystery is manifest, then the universe becomes a holy picture. My paintings aim to express the radiance of my own discovery, albeit in symbolic form.
Bound by a micro versus macro framework, my paintings consist of imagery from both recognizable and obscure references including: video games, ancient pictograms, childhood iconography, cultural belief systems, sacred geometry and the occult. The results are hybrid environments evoking themes of alienation, displacement, contradiction and wonder. Toxic colors permeate the landscape, geometric structures represent spiritual icons, and adolescent symbols along with video game imagery are re-contextualized into a new language.
In this setting, elements collide. They amalgamate. Relationships are established causing new messages and meaning to sprout forth, acting as portals into the imagination. Although influenced by the past and created in the present, my story unfolds around nostalgia for a time that doesn't yet exist.
