CITADEL

or A place of buried ruins nested one on top of another, deep layers of developing technology an echo humming up from the bedrock.

Made from mica, plaster, sand, natural dirt (bc, mexico), concrete, aluminium, iron oxide, oil paint, acrylic, aerosol, walnut oil, walnut alkyd, oilstick, acrylic, clay, sepiolite, paint skins, damar, gamvar, uv archival spray on stretched canvas.

I created this private commission over 3 entire years for a family of young collectors in Toronto. During the creation period, I got to spend 7 months on a research trip visiting over 35 different archeological sites across Mexico. In meeting with archeologists and guides and exploring different sites, I was fascinated with how many structures were built in progressive iterations, entombing themselves in increasingly more grandiose versions of the same structure over a span of centuries. Temples were like russian dolls of all their iterations--I wanted to create a painting that encapsulated that methodology. I began repeating a couple essential forms over and over: the citadel and the sakbe, the elevated ceremonial road. Different strata were built up in evolving materials, cycling through sand, mica, plaster and eventually concrete. Iron and aluminium modulated the surface, which was then treated with heavy layers of paint and oil. Each layer of the city swallowed the previous level, absorbing its topography and extending it. A treatise on the cycles of technology, architecture and oblivion.

30" x 55"
Private Collection.