Nolan Ferguson

"Psychic Diagenesis'' is an artistic projection of my internal experience with neurosis, specifically with depression, dissociation, and psychosis. The subject – an obscured stencil of my silhouette – is intended to convey the precarious nature of the boundaries between my mind, environment, and sense of self, which are often influenced by both my surroundings and internal state. The interactions between colors, textures, and forms in the work function as a visual metaphor for the tenuous separation between my internal and external experience of reality, and the issues that arise when those two experiences are not synonymous.

My multimedia work has spanned a number of forms, subjects, and styles but is unified by one thing: perception. Inside each mind there is a game of tug-of-war going on between how they conceive the world works and how the world actually works. The influence of the subconscious, of culture, and of other minds obscures empirical truth, a bias that is especially potent in the minds of those with both neurotic and psychotic conditions. My work aims to illustrate the individual human-level understanding of the world, typically using my own experience with these mental conditions, as a magnifying glass for critique. As an artist I offer bias, the subconscious, and fiction the conceptual limelight to interrogate and dissect their origins and material impacts.

Psychic Diagenesis

Chalk Pastel, Charcoal, and Intaglio Ink

36 x 24 inches