I like to explore patterns I see in nature, patterns of harmony and discord both anatomical and behavioral. I notice the layers, the hierarchies, the paradoxes that coexist. These inform my relationship to my own species and to my natural and cultural environments. I see life as a landscape, however abstract, peopled or not, reflecting the dynamics of those relationships. I strive to make my paintings an almost animate reflection of our ecology, and to encourage the same illuminating examination.
I am fascinated by what scientists call “crypsis”—the ability of an organism to avoid observation or detection by other organisms—and how it is used by prey and predator alike. Camouflage is one example with its own cultural connotations. Such hidden objects, intentions and agendas for individual and/or collective survival intrigue me.
As an artist I contend with visibility and invisibility, with being or not being seen, and the concept of longevity, this landscape, this life.
Stephen Florimbi
