The Insomnia Series (1984-1991)

These paintings deal with human relationships, absence and presence, awareness and oblivion. Sleep is an ancient metaphor for isolation, renewal, and transcendence. The dream world releases the unconscious mind and the body mimics death. Many of the figures are simultaneously intimate yet distant – mirroring our lives in a wakeful state. Although the figures are in bed, there is often an underlying restlessness and tension. The anxiety of insomnia becomes the weight of existential angst.