Sydney Perkins
is a multidisciplinary artist from New England, working and learning around the globe for the past six years.
As a self-taught artist, her work is a practice of curiosity and experimentation. She investigates realms where our physical bodies and the natural world intertwine in a way that unearths a sense of mysticism. As a sort of metaphysical ecology, her pieces search for answers in the undercurrent of everything.
“Experimentation is my favorite practice of art. I never learned how to paint traditionally--I didn't study art in school. Believe it or not I actually have a bachelor's degree in criminology and mathematics. Honestly, I love studying. I love analyzing why we are the way we are: making connections, quantifying things. Equations are spells. Criminology is the study of why people deviate from the norm. It's the study of what a norm is to begin with. Who defines it? Do we trust them? People often mistake cultural norms for absolute truths. The reality we live in is just something we collectively agreed upon”
“What happens when we combine math with human activity?
Patterns emerge, energy flows are recorded. The bigger picture begins to come into focus. Art is then our interpretation of this picture, it's how we tell the story. It isn't over when the equation is solved, the art picks up where the science leaves off.
It's the "something missing" we all tend to feel when we exist in the confines of a purely logical society”
On Magical Realism
“For a while now, magical realism has been the current and pervasive theme influencing my artwork. Incorporating magical elements into real life settings, blurring the line between fantasy and reality. What does it mean to take notice of the energy of the thing? Sometimes the story is more true than chain of events. How much do we lose by just taking people, places, and things at face value. How much more fun is it to believe in the undercurrent of everything?”
On Water & Light
“Water and light are persisting themes in my practice. I like to think of my work as a visual depiction of the human experience translated through the language of water. By exploring flow in the human form, I understand that we are not static beings, but bodies of water. We hold our own currents, vastness, and depth. I use this lens to stay curious about how the properties of water can illustrate our connectedness to ourselves, others, and the natural world. The forms I create celebrate the grace that lies between strength and vulnerability”
On Anomie
“Anomie is a theory in criminology and sociology describing a state of normlessness (a state of Anomie).
Anomie occurs during and follows periods of rapid change to social, economic, or political structures. It is a social condition in which there is a disintegration or disappearance of the previously common norms and values of a society, but new ones have not yet evolved to take their place.
The theory states that when society does not provide the necessary legitimate means that allow people to achieve culturally valued goals, people seek out alternative means that may simply break from the norm, or may violate norms and laws.
If, for example, a society impelled it’s members to acquire wealth, (achieve the American Dream, get the white picket fence, etc), yet offered inadequate means for them to do so (selectively oppressive systems, low wages, debt traps), the strain would cause many people to violate traditional norms.
Social behavior would thus become unpredictable, with people responding in a whole rainbow of methods.
What does that look like? Committing crimes, making art, moving to a deserted island, re-enchanting ourselves, overhauling the system, and creating new norms.
In these years of transition we are collectively experiencing as a society, this theory feels especially poignant. This recent period of Anomie has cultivated creativity for me, taken me around the world, and led me to record the art of being human in these strange times"
"Myth is not something that’s false; myth is something that’s so true that we find fantastical ways to tell it"
PADRAIG O’TAUMA
