“We seem to be universally drawn to water. Why is this? Is it a primordial returning, a humbling of scale, a sense of childhood nostalgia, a cleansing? Regardless of the connection, the draw to the transforming nature of water is undeniable.
The symbolism water provided me allowed for other imagery to grow. Paintings of sleep are no different, in the narrative of escape, than figures in water. Diving boards and tightropes examine stepping out of our comfort zone to grow and to change. The leaf sprouting from a branch...all part of the same thing.
My work reflects our collective desire for transformation into something ideal. In my paintings I try to create a sense of sanctuary using the metaphor of water, sleep, landscape or sky. I believe that even in its ephemeral state, these places lift us - freeing us from the weight of our world and allowing us to dream.
The images I make transport me to a place of calmness and to a sense of connecting something maternal and eternal. At times my subject matter may be surrendering to something unknown, while in others they are basking in the clarity of light. I hope to convey a sense of contentment and poise in either part of the journey, as I believe one state cannot exist without the other.”
Eric Zener |
