Mark Joseph Oliver

Artist Statement

My work uses specific elements of narrative to create interactive and immersive installations. In the construction of an environment, I create a staged moment—a still—from the climax of a story. I use my personal history as a starting point and strip away the excess to enhance the visual response but maintain the emotional depth of its origin. My environments are drawn from my own experiences with weather, natural disasters, and memory. My desire to work sculpturally is directly connected to my desire to share experiences with the viewer. Sculpture in its nature is immersive, it occupies the same space as the viewer and in the case of my installation work, physically surrounds the viewer to bring them into a real or imagined space. To create these shared moments I construct the space using familiar architecture while also utilizing methods of exaggeration and elaboration. This allows for a grounding in reality without compromising a sense of wonderment.

Architecture is recognized as a man-made construct within nature, and through these artistic constructions I also play with the tension of nature and nurture, our origin as humans and what we define as our home. This overarching idea is brought into every piece I make. The method of sculpture allows me to extend beyond the visual to include the myriad of physical sensations that define an experience, such as smell, touch, and sound. These immersive worlds are a way to engage the viewer through my past while creating a shared experience in the present.