Colin Williams

Artist Statement
Resume

Stars, Stripes & Tepees.

The inspiration for this body of work came shortly after my arrival to the USA, where I remember being struck by the countless US flags flying from the cars, dwellings, commercial, industrial, and public buildings throughout the territories I visited. Furthermore, whilst talking to a couple of Native American artists, I learnt that there was no indigenous representation in the official USA flag. I dwelt on this fact for a while, and felt compelled to respond to this information, artistically. As my thoughts evolved, I realized the emotion and spirit of my inspiration came from a desire to create paintings based on the USA Flag, yet moved beyond the customary flag and included metaphorical links to Native America. So I began playing with the aesthetics and ideals of the US flag’s design, by recasting its various elements and colors into conflicting juxtapositions with more indigenous structural patterns and mark making. Now, the working title “Stars, Stripes & Tepees” came in to play, as a symbolic axis on which this body of work was set.

Consequently, “Stars, Stripes & Tepees” interweaves a dialogue between territories. That is, territories between the Fluidity and Solidity of Painting, Construction and Deconstruction, Motif and Abstraction, Citizen and Foreigner.

Colin Williams.

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