973302 - OPTIMYTHIC 01:

Where Does the Alphabet Come From?

I'm a Toronto-based artist working in a wide array of new, old, and ancient media. I think of myself as a "Webspinner" -- the Internet is my primary substrate, and upon it I place my various works of trans-media art.  The creation process is ongoing; there's no definitive beginning or end to the large-scale structure of the networked storytelling. 

Each of the mosaic works included in this exhibition is a physical node in my narrative network. My materials include: vitreous, smalti, and stained glass; ceramic and porcelain tile; stone and crystal; cast metals and findings; grout; wood; found objects and dissected electronics.  With it all, I build three-dimensional sculptural wall-mounts that stand alone as abstract works of art.

When photographed, indexed, and deployed into cyberspace, these mosaics also become the subject of digital images that are each available for deep linking with other regions of my online storytelling universe.

My vision is for a hyperlinked web of timelines, images, and texts that serve as a metaphorical portrait of my evolving identity. As such, it becomes a resource of personal narratives that can be mined as a tool for self-analysis and self-knowledge. I periodically review my past deployments in search of meaningful (or mysterious) patterns of mind and consciousness.  These alternating seasons of creation and reflection allow for self-directed exploration, therapy, and, every once in a while, exorcism.

I hope and expect that future creation cycles will draw upon these mosaics to embroider and illustrate my burgeoning, online narratives. Each of these pieces can thus be approached as a doorway into elsewhere spaces of my mind.

Shawn Postoff
March 2016