Ashleigh Johns
Artist Statement
I create environments that correspond to the spaces I previously transposed two-dimensionally, shifting from paintings that reflect a sense of time, memory, and space to installations built of light, video, and sound. This transition from two-dimensional work to installation work stems from a desire formed out of necessity following the diagnosis of a demyelinating neurological disease.
Similar to my paintings and two-dimensional pieces, light and color continue to command consideration in my installations. I introduced sound into my installation work as a mode of enveloping and grounding the viewer within the space. In taking control of that temporal space by playing with the suspension of time, I invoke the senses to immerse the viewer in a phenomenological experience beyond thought.
Though loosely based on places from my own memory and experiences, my use of ambiguous sound and image allow for installations that are widely accessible to all. This also invites the viewer to apply their own experience of memory by appealing to the senses physically, constructing a metaphysical memory space from the physical installation.