Dark Matter
Jemison Faust and Jason Chase
Atelier Newport, Newport, RI 02840
October 21–November 25, 2018
reception October 21 from 2–4pm
“BENEATH” SERIES
ARTIST STATEMENT
This series of paintings is based on my fascination with the enormous sea of information just beneath the surface of our daily lives. Most of us just bop along and don’t spend much time on what is underneath: the algorithms that inform what and how we see, the tracking of our movements and the gathering of millions of bits of information. It’s always there but much of it goes unnoticed until we happen to wander into its territory.
I recently asked Siri on my iPhone: “Siri, are you listening to me even if I haven’t asked you a question?” Her reply: “Let’s not talk about me, Jemison, let’s talk about you.”
It feels like the world now is much like our brain. The only difference is that someone else is inputting the bits of data, guiding the connections, smoothing over the difficulties. No all bad, to be sure, but we do need to pay attention, right?
I often look for one image that captures the emotion of the topic for me. In this case it was a brain scan photo showing thousands of connections, overlapping functions, bursts of activity… all rather wonderful to behold. I copy, abstract and layer this image on the painting surface and then work back into it with acrylic paint and mediums.
After her smartass response, I deleted Siri from my iPhone.