“Headlines” is a series of large paintings and sculptures of chaotic and unconventional heads inspired by my interactions with friends, family, co-workers, and acquaintances. Contemporary artist Anselm Kiefer has been influential in my thinking, stating “I wanted to build the palace of my memory, because my memory is my only homeland.” This quote resonates with my work and beliefs because these heads are intrinsic to my memories and experiences, which energize them. As a whole, the body of work functions as a critique of the technological, flat world of digital imagery by the use of dimensional, visceral surfaces. I use instinctive, rough-hewn marks influenced by mid-century gestural abstraction, combined with the impatience of an over stimulated culture, to explore the character and developmental, constructive state of a figure. Throughout the process I question how the raw identity of materials evokes emotion through texture and structure by employing traditional and non-traditional materials and methods and apply that in relation to the mental and moral qualities distinctive to the individuals that inspired these works. I believe materials can transcend their physical existence and become something entirely new by manipulating their appearance. Through the physicality of molding, building, ripping, tearing, scraping, and attacking the surfaces, my work enacts a primal interaction between the artist, the work, and the viewer.