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Samantha Walrod’s work is a continued investigation of perception within figure-ground relationships. As a continuing series these collage paintings also act as a diary recalling personal relationships and moments of self-discovery. Images and color pallet come from experiences and mediated encounters with technologies such as computers, television, and contemporary, mass-produced objects. Memories of intimate relationships are drawn and collaged as animal and plant forms. These gestural forms represent struggle and human resilience, as do her methods of production. This body of work began with floral collage; distorted branch-like floral figures referring vaguely to the human form include animal figures all the while sustaining Walrod’s concern with figure-ground relationships.
These collage paintings narrate the experience of remembering. The layers of paint are symbolic of the mind’s ability to retain detailed information of an event while at the same time leaving some areas/memories muted or cloudy. There is often a juxtaposition of imagery, a sort of random association that occurs during the composition of the work. Floral motifs will grow out of a C-train pole or a pair of antlers, before receding back into the paint blobs or ink splashes. High-energy plastic-looking pinks and greens set up a tension with pale color shifts and delicate line work. In the painting process, synthetic filters (pixels and bright unnatural colors) depict memories of childhood, recall friendships and record activities of simple daily living such as taking Calgary Transit. With these images Walrod is trying to clarify her identity while at the same time recognizing its intricate complexity. The memories recalled do not have sharp edges but vague qualities that go in and out of definition.
To work against a sanitized unseen process in digital reproduction, Samantha has returned to the painting studio from the computer lab. Despite her aversion to the computer surface she uses computer technology in the creation of the collage paintings. Colors are manipulated with Photoshop and printed images are collaged under and over paint. The work participates with both hand and machine. In creating the collage, the process includes a great deal of tactile awareness through physical manipulation. Figure-ground relationships are often focused by sanding through paint to expose board. Dominant forms become more transparent and dark areas are exposed. With each layer or erasure and digital collage, she is working towards contrast- activity and quiet, opacity and transparency, chaos and balance. At the same time a careful balance is sought if too much is revealed with the hand sander, or a color is discordant. For the artist, the working process is successful when a state of clarity similar to meditation is reached in the painting.
In creating these paintings, the development of a sense of material volume and formal composition arises. In using digital imagery paint and ink, these works show a sense of balance and perception that are simultaneously becoming increasingly clear yet more complex.
-Sam
