Artist’s Statement: The ancient Egyptians referred to their statues as Shesep Ankh, or Living Image – Shesep Ankh Atum, or Living Image of (the god) Atum, being associated specifically with their sphinxes. The opposition between the infinitely generative concept of Atum, as the creative force from which all things arise, and the objectification of this all bearing power in its stone carved embodiment, became the formula upon which this project was analogously forged. Taking consciousness as an alternative signifier for the meaning of Atum, the narrative reflects upon this illimitable capacity which man has the privilege of participating in, yet which becomes relegated to the narrow scope of his engrossment with his own self-consciousness. The ultimate creative force from which all things arise thus lies fallow in man, idled away in his preoccupation with substantiating – his endeavoring to set in stone – the identities delineating his own living image.
The Living Image project began as a call-and-response between my writing and the paintings of visual artist, Bill Atwood. These static elements were then brought to life on camera through my collaborations with video artists, Billy Hunt and Brian Wimer, as well as musician, Deke Shipp.
