In my painting practice I have been experimenting with deskilling as a way to rediscover my enjoyment of painting and to develop processes that feel true to me. In doing so, I have found joy in working serially, which has created a non-linear progression for my practice — one that removes the pressure to rush to a finish or to form a definitive style. Instead, seriality allows me to continually experiment, evolve subjects, and manipulate and create icons.

When choosing a subject to paint serially, I try to pick something that resonates with my experiences, but is also generalized. Accessibility is important to my work because I see painting as a tool for community building. How painting can be ‘used’ is where it gets its meaning from. Painting is not about invention or a marker of individuality, but a contribution to a conversation that brings me closer to others, encourages sharing, and makes the institution less classist to work within. While I aim to keep the access points of my work broad, there is often a personal narrative woven in, though it is not always explicitly read.

Deskilling takes me outside the normal trajectories of successful art making. Is outside of normalcy a liminal space? With liminality in mind, I reflect on experiential parallels such as travelling, particularly the space between departure and arrival and what objects and scenes resonate, such as rural icons and folk art. It is this reflection that led me to begin my series of shipping containers as I feel they are an amalgamation of these themes pertaining to seriality, community, transience, misuse, communication, and urban and rural iconography. Furthermore, causing me to question if working serially is synonymous with liminality.