My work fuses the past and the present, generally based on sociocultural and economic themes in American history: capitalism, commodification of beings and the subsequent brainwashing effects. The emphasis on recurring imagery creates a thread between individual pieces in my repertoire and in doing so, I am speaking directly to larger societal issues that are rooted in the racial structuring of society. Allegorically, I repeat the use of horses, corn and the pawn chess piece to represent the ideology that laid the foundation for the racial structure in American society and how we navigate that ingrained system today.
from the accompanying artist statement
Stephen Hayes’s American Haze is on view at Mason Fine Art through August 13th. The gallery is open normal hours.
