Fingerprint Variations, The Beaver, July 2011

Blindfold, hand-cut paper, 2 layers, diptych, 38x25 inches, 2008

Beatings, hand-cut paper, 2 layers, triptych, 40x19 inches, 2008

Les Messieurs du Port-Au-Prince, hand-cut paper, 2 layers,  25x19 inches, 2008

These are older works that show my progression with cutting technique. I was working with decorative papers at the time, but then found that I was unable to get too detailed on patterned papers, as the incisions would become lost in the designs. I moved onto gray paper, as my subject matter remained political and I wanted to suggest the look of a newspaper. 

These three pieces are all based on photographs I found in newspapers or in news magazines. The paper is cut in such a manner so that the image emanates from a central swirl. This was intended to implicate the look and the concepts that surround a fingerprint. "Beatings" is an image of an anti-government protester in Rawalpindi, Pakistan being beaten by police. Such images are rarely shown in their local press. "Blindfold" shows 3 blindfolded men who are about to be executed in Karaj, Iran. "Les Messieurs du Port-au-Prince" is an image of UN peacekeepers crossing a flooded river in Haiti. The title makes reference to Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," and connects the brothel scene in Picasso's piece to rape accusations that have been associated with UN peacekeepers. (This piece was also exhibited at Gallery 44's Photorama in 2008)