David Waddell Artist Studio Program Exhibition

“My pieces examine our relationship to storytelling, technology, and the boundaries between truths and fiction. The modern-day flipbook utilizes the iPod and is activated through the scroll wheel. This allows the viewer to personally control the story through pacing and direction. People would rather be constantly entertained through electronics than look out a window. This action of scrolling through these images stimulates and fulfills visual desires. In 2010, communication through digital means has become more prominent. The newer series incorporates text as a guide. What is the current role of language in our society? This work is reminiscent of silent films, alludes to captions, and speaks in a digital language. This work is ‘factual’ like a nature documentary and has an empathetic human subplot. The collaged specimens began as a formal exercise and a puzzle. Images are collected from magazines, an endangered form of media, to form a new creature. The series progressed from grotesque to mechanical, the architectural to the cartoon. The pieces were later dispersed through digital means in which ‘scientists’ analyzed the creature to inform the public of their discoveries. These collaborators were prompted to use Wikipedia as a tool to combine facts to produce a viable presentation. Technology is a dominating presence in our daily lives as we rely on it to present ‘facts’ and provide us with information. Paper cutouts and sculptures are physical evidence of the human hand. Visiting physical spaces in nature and understanding tangible elements are important aspects of the work.”