Kaden Morris

Artist Statement

I fear the day when consciousness re-dissolves back into the physically quantified mess of mass that has been gridded and mapped to oblivion–that the magical phenomenon that the renaissance artists and cave painters desperately tried to capture becomes entirely mechanized and automated. The magical illusion of the eternal self is something that in itself is a mystery, and shouldn’t be taken for granted. Right now, the idea of self, of physical space, the place we all permanently inhabit, has been invaded and settled via algorithms. In regards to the social internet specifically: the belief is that you are consuming content, when the reality is that billionaires are consuming your attention, a currency more valuable than anything else.

While I don't believe in the self in a physical sense, I do believe that it exists experientially. I believe in the biological illusion of self. Your individuality and your oneness with nature are not mutually exclusive realities. I am returning to the idea of nature as what we are composed of, rather than a place that we exist inside of. "Reality" is collected and processed inside our minds, filtered through chemical biology, and constructed into ideas that make sense to the creatures that we have evolved into. Painting is one of the many ways that an indeterminate expanse can be collapsed into a “readable” image. It does not require logging in with an email. All it asks of you is Total Presence. Painting is the single best form of communication I have ever had, and is a means to reconnect with the reality of nature. It provides an extension to understanding where language fails. It is how I experience myself.