"THE MEAT GRID"

THE MEAT GRID is a body of work which involves the sensuality and 
seductiveness of meat.  I have worked in meat rooms of supermarkets, 
as both a clerk and apprentice meat-cutter, long enough to see the 
aesthetic values in a wide range of cuts of meat.  As an 
‘artist/meat-cutter’, I recognized the necessity for meat to be 
abstracted in order for it to be swallowed.  So, it was natural for me 
to objectify meat and approach it with the same focus as my other 
still-life subjects.  I discovered that my past interaction with meat, 
professionally that is, offered me a higher level of sensitivity within 
my paint application.  This was due to a familiarity that I had not 
experienced so much in previous subjects.  As a result, this group of 
eighteen meat paintings surpasses mere observation and better reflects 
my value of the subject.  Because I have had the opportunity to elevate 
raw meat to the value of art (or is it the other way around?) and then 
eat my subject after each painting’s completion, not to mention the 
pleasure it can bring to vegetarians, this series is successful on many 
levels.