My work explores the limitations of portraiture - how knowledge is simultaneously held and withheld within portrait painting. Using oil paint on hand stretched canvases of varying sizes, I paint the hands of those close to me, as well as an object that I associate with the occupation of each person’s hands. Through limiting the viewer’s access to the subject’s full identity, the work questions what portraiture is and the validity of its definition. Portraits are typically conceived of a figure, usually with a face. In removing the face my work explores alternative methods of representation as well as its subjectivity. The personal relationships that I have with the subjects of the work plays a role in this. I have a story and an object that I associate with each hand, whereas a viewer unfamiliar with the subjects cannot possibly form the same connection with my work as I can.
