MAX PAULIN

My work is concerned with the connections of memory and moment, focused on finding alternative routes to protect and embody my experiences. Following the passing of my father, I have questioned ideas of guilt, care, and distance within loss, aiming to repair and rebuild the space of grieving for myself and my audience. Working in installation primarily, the work appears through sculpture, drawing, and painting together in concert. I involve myself in detailed and layered spaces both in installation and in the space of my images, often building texture and colliding images together to exist in the same space. The density within each piece reflects a buildup of emotion and noise, which is often contrasted by a tone of silence and candid plainness in the subject and scenery depicted. The imagery I choose exists as a texture or mood rather than a truthful representation of the experience or memory in question, remaining unfinished, open, and trapped in argument, which often finds a tone of sentimentality and humor in its presentation. Images are built of quiet childhood photos and vibrant organic matter, mundane moments and bold windows into other spaces. The work is at once fluid/rigid, sublime/banal, and distorted/comfortable. The method of oxymoron, holding differences in the same hand, allows me to navigate and find clarity through the control and authority I build for myself in each piece. Within each piece I hold space for introspection, often held through an installative vehicle such as water, wind, placement, light and reflection, allowing the viewers experience a neutral space to connect their experiences next to my own. 

​