For over 30 years, I have been fascinated by the phenomenology of colour and light. My paintings, installations, and public artworks organically inform one another as I shift between creative processes. Conceptually, I am intrigued by the imperceptible shift that happens when art transports us to another place. A painting or object can captivate the viewer as it hits their retina, but this initial attraction may soon give way to something more ambiguous and cerebral. It is the liminal space I am interested in when the mind’s eye confronts the interstitial realm between abstraction and representation, or between reality and imagination. When one crosses this threshold, it can be disorienting because the liminal occupies the space of in-betweenness or of not knowing.

Earlier in my career, I was captivated by the reflectiveness and translucency of water – how its beauty and serenity is both inviting and unknowable. Light has a similar kind of mystery to it, being both invisible and visible. There is magic in these natural elements, where one senses the universe in an associative rather than a literal way.

The same duality appears in the assemblages I have been making since 2001, giant wall curtains and chandeliers made of discarded plastic containers. From afar, they appear as diaphanous waterfalls or ornamental lights, while close-up, the viewer discovers they are single-use detritus. It is a strange disconnect, to be enticed by a beautiful object only to acknowledge it is environmentally harmful. This series speaks to the growing movement towards saving the planet from climate change. I also hope it offers some more insight into the human psyche and our complex relationship to the natural world.

Colour and light continue to be central themes in my paintings. My series, Threshold, is based on photographs I have taken over decades of sacred architecture interiors, both locally and internationally. In almost every denomination, ceilings represent another type of liminal space between ourselves and the cosmos. By turning my gaze to the sky and these interpretations of heaven, I am drawing parallels between cultures and the universal quest to understand the ethereal. As we are living in times of intolerance and unrest, I see these paintings as reminders of what our collective civilizations share, and have shared, for millennia.

Blueprint is a new series of paintings defined by a riot of curving shapes and colour-saturated lines. The works take their inspiration from historic blueprints of Toronto’s built history. Drawings and forms that started as fragments of century-old motifs liquify into brilliant colour and light.

My practice now includes public art commissions, where I have incredible opportunities to express my ideas on a massive scale. In 2013, I designed a 74-foot long glass wall in Toronto depicting vertical ribbons of colour. Called Gardiner Streams, the façade overlooks an elevated expressway surrounded by monochrome glass towers. There is minimal colour in this location except for these veins or arteries of brilliant blues, reds, and yellows which signify to commuters that they are entering the heart of the city.

I am working with developers and architects on various projects that will further enliven the urban experience, bringing moments of warmth and playfulness to the public realm. Glass and mosaics are two architectural materials that allow me to express my love for light and colour in exciting dimensions. These significant art features are celebratory and uplifting. Like my paintings and installations, they portray a sense of joyfulness and wonder.