Shane Harris

Art is a way for me to visually communicate through objects that symbolize universal aspects of the human experience. Issues evolving from interpersonal relationships such as intimacy, conflict, and communication are explored. Emotions evoked from human interactions such as passion, love, loneliness, sadness, desire, adoration and joy are illustrated throughout my work.

I use small scale to represent not only physical intimacy but emotional intimacy as well. This provokes a psychological response. The response evoked may range from sensuality to feelings of intimacy. It also triggers a resonance with one’s own experience with interpersonal relationships. I have always liked small objects that carry a powerful meaning. The size of this work is similar to the size of photographs often found in photo albums which connotes the idea of something remembered or cherished something meaningful and personal. Similar to the impact of looking at a photo album which can evoke memories and feelings, looking at my abstract objects arranged in an intimate picture can also evoke or trigger an emotional response.

The abstraction of the objects and the colors lends itself to a broader symbolic meaning, whereas more realistic representation of sexual objects or interactions would limit the possibility of interpretation which in turn would limit the range of response from the viewer. I use the abstract as a means to simplify or break down complex ideas and relationships. The use of abstract also allows the viewer to more easily identify with the content. The abstract serves the ambiguous nature of the subject matter. The phallic shapes of the objects could easily be interpreted as sexual, but the possibilities for interpretation are broader than that - the phallic symbols might represent the gender of the objects, but the way in which they are arranged represents a dynamic between the objects - the complexity of relationships and how life impacts those relationships. Therefore, each piece can have many meanings, which will vary depending on the viewer’s own life experience and his or her subjective interpretation.