Shane Keena

Artist Statement   |   Show Record & Vitae

	Strongylocentrotus (Ball of Spines) Multi-Fired Earthenware, Luster				Strongylocentrotus (Ball of Spines) Multi-Fired Earthenware, Luster

Having grown up near the ocean, I spent a considerable portion of my childhood exploring the shallow tide pools of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California. My recollection of discovering various life-forms occupying these shallow tidal regions, along with being an avid scuba diver for the past twenty years, has had a direct influence on my work. Yet, while many of the diverse marine forms are sources of visual and formal inspiration, my agenda is not to recreate what already exists in the world, but rather to create objects that are chimeras; the result of a blending of ideas begging the question; "is it animal, mineral, or vegetable?" I aim for my work to come to life within arm's reach, where eyesight blurs into touch with the objective of creating new, enigmatic and uncategorized art-forms.

The objects I create are the by-products of a long personal investigation and echo the characteristics of my guarded personality. Reflecting a keen interest in structural defense mechanisms found in nature, my ceramic forms swell with bravado, often adopting aggressive or recoiling postures in a fight-or-flight state that protect the visceral interiors.

Combined with exteriors that flaunt thousands of dazzling spines or noxious, encrusted skins, I weave the vibrant, electric warning palette found in nature into my sculptures in a marriage of color and form. By juxtaposing the semiotics of these brilliant and alarming colors in combination with physical defense barriers, I aim to further emphasize the presence of the guarded self within the work. While my sculptures serve as a metaphorical extension of who I am as a maker and as a person, I believe that viewers of my work can relate to the universal sensibility of an ever increasing population and overall encroachment of personal space. At the end of the day, my artwork is the manifestation of my exploration of issues dealing with territoriality, defense mechanisms, and vulnerability.

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