The human brain is not inherently hardwired to read or write; instead, modern text recognition is a gradual reconfiguration of pre-existing visual processing skills. As literacy emerges as a contentious currency of our time, I am drawn to the complexities of the observable alphabet and the implications of its invention. My studio practice encodes recreational research on the neurodivergent history of literacy into multimodal paintings and sculptures, with a focus on spell check, instruction manuals, standardized measurements, and the technical language of sports.
Rendered to scale with crisp layers of acrylic gesso on narrow wood panels, my low-relief paintings mimic extended sheets of dot matrix paper. I disrupt the surface tension of these compartmentalized shapes in relation to sequence and syntax; imprinting each page with objects and oil paint informed through a perverse index of pressure, punctuation, and penetration. My interest in impressions spans many definitions of movement and (mis)translation, including the performative nature of trompe-l’œil and the impact of action painting. Despite their inert properties, I contend with each blank page as a dynamic opponent in the studio, reminiscent of my own experiences with labored learning.
Through an amalgamation of published imagery and everyday office supplies, I engage with found objects as tangible studies of the writing process. My collection functions as a modular dictionary in which distinct definitions are exchanged for familiar forms. As an artist, I am also an editor: I add, subtract, and rearrange visual components until they formally and pragmatically converge as one. Whether assembled laterally on pedestals or vertically in panel, these working documents consider the interplay between objects and words, as well as objects as words.
Pricing and exhibition inquiries available upon request at juliamcgehean@gmail.com.