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Statement
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My direction as a painter is to visually stimulate and subliminally, if not consciously, educate the public. In doing so I grasp an occasion to tear away the masks we all wear and express my personal opinions about world issues. My work is inspired by events and histories of religion, war and its senseless death of millions, pollution and its effects on our environment, like the depletion of our ozone. In an attempt to facilitate viewers in recognizing some of the issues we face today, I visually communicate with society. My purpose is to increase their awareness of our surroundings, our fragile environment, and our delicate world. The use of bold colors within my work represent the tones of my homeland, Portugal. Colors like the bright blues for the skies and the oceans, vibrant reds for its passionate people. Repetitive images found throughout my work are the faces and profiles of these people. All of which are reflective of my thoughts both past and present. Over the years I have created a series of work that I have entitled the ‘Ecology Series’. This series catalogues events in my lifetime and our present history. Events of tragic ecological episodes that have impacted me, and I believe should impact my viewers. This group of paintings is an ongoing collection representing crimes against nature, crimes against our environment. One of my earlier pieces entitled “Prince William Sound” depicts images of the heartbreak left behind by the damaged oil tanker, the Exxon Valdez. The oil spill of the Exxon Valdez left the world with an environmental disaster that we continue to battle to this day. Another ongoing collection of paintings the “Cold War Series”, began with a piece entitled “Bosnia”. It visually translates my protest against war and the politics that create wars. I believe this series of work is timeless in content. Motivated by wars senselessness, these paintings depict images of their effects. The goal is to remind viewers that these political tragedies not only affect man as an individual, but man as a race. Miguel Osorio |