Statement

My work explores hyperbole and psychological depth through a mythopoetic journey expressed in a growing collection of indirect self-portraits and observational pieces. This evolving body of paintings, drawings, and mixed media focuses on non-verbal and non-narrative communication. The flesh of friends and acquaintances, enduring and ephemeral, is reimagined through a composite of archival imagery, observation, imagination, and digital sources.

These works evoke a subdued narrative of disenchantment born from disillusionment, reflecting an agnostic stance toward perceived futility. This perspective is shaped by the decadence and existential angst of the digital age. Through this lens, my practice becomes a meditation on the eternal, seeking transcendence not in purity but in the search for virtue within imperfection. It delves into the vulnerable and mortal self, creating a vivid poem of presence.

This presence emerges as a byproduct of a devout pursuit of severe beauty. My aesthetic embraces imperfection, mirroring the natural processes of aging, wear, and decay in matter and memory. Yet, these elements are suspended in the mythical timelessness of the medium, still but never silent.

• Steven Labadessa