Statement about this series

by Jeff Whipple

The three irregular lines grouped together is a symbol for life. I use the symbol to examine how an individual life or lifetime is valued and to acknowledge the legacy we all have been given by the countless lives of our ancestors. The three lines depict the basic perception of pattern: one element alone has no meaning, two could be coincidence but three is a pattern. The pattern of the most basic spasm of movement is what distinguishes the animate from the inanimate, the living from the dead.

I call the symbol a “Spasm”. Spasms are used in my artwork in many different ways. If the viewer understands them as a symbol for life they will arrive at their own interpretations about how the symbols interact with the imagery.

The figures with Spasms over their eyes may refer to how some people see the world through their life experiences or through the experiences of others. Or they are trying to see some meaning in life. In some of my images people are covered with Spasms. This could represent how our lives are affected by the people who lived before us. Or it could be about people who are burdened or blessed by other lives. Or the figures could represent whole societies or civilizations.

There are images of Spasms melting or burning like candles to represent how lives continually drip or melt away towards death. In some works hundreds of Spasms form a solid mass or fabric, which could represent groups of people, communities or human history.