Working mainly with video (but also performance, painting, fabrics, audio and installation) my work tackles the idea of presence in art. It aims to invite the audience into the exchange that takes place when someone loses themselves in art (or an honest expression) and the change in the atmosphere that takes place as the presence of God enters the room as a result. I believe you can invite the presence of God into a place by giving yourself fully over to Him (in my work through dance as worship), just like an artist can fill a space with a sense of presence when they give the art room to grow on its own.  

 

This notion of presence fascinates me, how we can bring about this ambience by the actions we do, and how we might be able to alter the nature said ambience by the position of our hearts in that moment. Every layer of my work is intentional from the colors to the dance itself it all exists to point to the one who created it all in the first place as a worship to His glory, I believe it is through this heart posture that I opens up the space for his presence to fall. The same way an artist cannot simply will their art to change an atmosphere due to the presence it holds, it is the result of an authentic exchange of trust between the art and the artist.

 

It is an ongoing collaboration between the maker and the made, and it is out of this relationship a presence can grow. In this equation I look at myself as the “made” and God as the “maker” who guides every step I take and every whiff of the flags on the way to this deep-rooted exchange as a result of my authentic expression of worship to Him. At the same time, I am the performer or the “maker” of the dance that brings about the change in atmosphere that takes place as the presence falls. It is this intimate and deep connection in collaboration that pulls my art practice forth and inspires me to reach new depths in our limited understanding of the nature of presence.