“Shark Compositions” series of paintings

4January 2006

This series was a painted during a time in my life (1998 – 1999) when compositional abstraction and my ideas of being the mental state of your work as you work on it was completely new to me. I had been a portrait artist that converted to still life, and abstraction just felt right. or so I think, memory fails us as we go back and look a our lives, as I am sure it is for me.

Artist statement

This series was intended to present the various mental states of an individual soldier during and after war. The mythology of the Hawaiian Islands to represent the identity of a shark as a metaphor to symbolize said mental state of a soldier. The mythology of the pacific islands believe that when an individual is acting out of place he is wearing the spirit and identity of a shark.

As a source of inspiration I looked toward the behavioral traits of schizophrenia; conflicts of confusion both rational and irrational, violence, an adolescent-like lust, and lack of self-control, as the foundation for my methods used in the application of paint.

War being what it is induces an almost schizophrenic-like psychology to the fundamental beliefs of right and wrong. Wrong is only in question when it is committed on the individuals perception of interpretation.

Adam M. Considine 1999