Laguna College of Art + Design

Discord in the Garden is a body of work that represents my exploration into the permeability of gender by way of transvestism or cross-dressing. The subject of this work was initially inspired by a friend of mine who had the courage to reveal to me that he occasionally enjoyed dressing as a woman. My paintings developed from a very slow simmer of ideas related to my experiences and reactions as I came to know more about transvestites and cross-dressing. Observing how we present ourselves to and maneuver our way through the world as sexual beings has always driven my artwork and I see cross-dressing as just another manifestation of sexuality. Through interviews, photo shoots, extensive research of psychological studies and the development of personal relationships with transvestites, I found a rich and dense subject worthy of investigation.

Painting and drawing are both integral parts of my art-making, but painting was particularly well suited for this body of work. I wanted to find a way to marry my conceptual ideas with my formal ideas. The physical act of painting, of manipulating the surface, painting over things, bringing areas back, the ability to make mere canvas and pigment transcend their ordinary limits and become what I desire, I see as metaphor for the subsuming of and denial of gender identity for cross-dressers. My objectives with this work centered on investigating and questioning gender norms and behaviors. I hope that these paintings invite the viewer to question their own particular notions about gender identity, our socially constructed ideas of what it means to be male and female, and how these influence our choices and our behaviors in our public and private lives.