This photos are of my most recent series Smear, 2015, acrylic on canvas, 6 x 8 ft. Below is a statement talking a little bit more about the content of the work.
Transformation. My art is about human connections and helping others understand their experiences in the world. In my own practice, I use the physical act of making as a therapeutic process to help myself accept realities that are out of my control: realities like my experiences with confronting sickness, relationships, and the intimidating uncertainties of my future that, plague my thoughts.
Within this process, I create massive abstractions of microscopic cancer cells to express the impact of how such a small, seemingly insignificant speck can manifest itself into something so epically devastating. I want to facilitate human connections by sharing my family’s experiences with others in a way that encourages a deeper understanding of a crisis that many families face today.
This body of work is my opportunity to heal, and painting is my therapeutic means of accepting my own family’s fate. As I paint, I slowly mend the cracks and empty space that cover my heart and the many hearts of others affected by cancer. I want to embody those challenges and triumphs to create something both hauntingly beautiful and introspectively meaningful.
Want, 2014, tea stain on paper, 5 x 9 ft.
This is an example of past project involving my research in writing within the arts.
Ava Chaney 