Ben Sandness

My present body of work is fueled by the question, “Am I more than the sum of my parts?” 

I have begun to look separately at my consciousness, roles, decisions, possessions, creations, consumption, faults, burdens, and worries.  This work becomes a quest for self definition as I move beyond just inventorying these personal qualities to create images and objects that depict my experience of these qualities. 

In my current work, I focus on identifying and depicting the experience of my worries.  I make drawings and prints that depict the things I find myself worrying about. The images often include every-day objects as metaphors for the tension or conflict inherent to my worries.  I focus on an emotive use of line, color, and texture as I develop these images.  The subject matter and mark making work together to communicate to the viewer a sense of tension.  As a result, the viewer is left with the same uneasiness that I experience through my worries.