The billboard painting series began in late 2007 while living in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Billboards towered over the urban landscape like sentinels lining the streets. Many were empty, blank and weathered. I photographed them from taxi’s while zooming between the city zones. I originally wanted to capture a simplicity in form, but quickly moved towards a more representational landscape painting in which the adverts became social messages. I played with single words and simple phrases to draw emotional response from the viewer. However, the interest starting years before in Canada.
The billboards added something to the cityscape I hadn’t felt emotionally connected to since living in Vancouver B.C during the 1990’s. During that time, I would spot a decrepit billboard perched atop a building from my seat on the skytrain each day. I imagined the peeling, worn out surface akin to a giant abstract painting hovering over chinatown.
