As a child my parents’ medical textbooks and periodicals fascinated me. The pages were filled with bright otherworldly photographs of microscopic stained cells that showed what went on inside our bodies. My childhood bookshelves contained a large assortment of pocket reference guides on topics ranging from bird watching to geology. These mid-century texts filled my mind with vivid stylized imagery; imagery that has stayed with me. At a young age I filled my playtime with hobbies that concentrated on collecting and categorizing rocks and natural specimens from nature that I could later continue to observe. I remember visiting the sterile, white, mysterious laboratory where my father worked. The stark monochromatic environment, would later translate into the language of my work.
Process itself plays an important role in my work. I am interested in the processes that form the natural world, scientific, and pseudo-scientific processes we use to understand the natural world and the physical process required to create the forms in my work. Because of this, I often find myself creating work that consists of multiples that combine into a singular form. This growth mimics cellular growth, however, that does not mean my forms merely reproduce biological life. They are, in many ways, a conglomeration of multiple sources combined to create a nature that I brought into existence. I want my viewer to look upon my work with the same wonderment and curiosity that a child has when first confronted with the mysterious world of nature.
Amanda Leslie Phillips Art © 2022