Lauren A. Toomer: Grounded
On view through November 2015

“Moving forward in history, the body is subjected to new cultural meanings, as societal perceptions of “what is Man” changes over time. It appears that technology, commerce, and self-absorption leave the body defenseless to becoming a synthetic and fragmented shell. Exploring this idea in my Grounded series I drew the body of John and Jane Doe’s that were listed on a missing person’s database. I used a language of spontaneous marks that were drawn in a similar fashion as a highly pixelated image. Similar shattered marks are used to create the face, body, clothes ground and sky. These various parts seamlessly blend together into a pattern of values. Presently, codes can describe a person’s biochemistry. Scientists who sought to find the core of a person through penetrating the skin can now search in atoms, molecules, and algorithms. I continually investigate new ways to chronicle these shifts with my art.” — Lauren A. Toomer