Our Blurry Minds Eye
Our Blurry Mind’s Eye is a research-based series that examines the universal language found in dreams, neuroscience, ancient symbols, and the empirical observations of Carl Jung. By using found imagery from the internet, magazines and books, and the artist’s own photographs, Grey constructs layered compositions that contain worlds within worlds. By blending reproduced photographs and other images within each dreamscape, the artist offers an unprecedented way of remembering to the viewer. Many of these dreamscapes are embellished with digital drawings, a process which allows the artist to build upon the surface while keeping true meanings veiled. The artist signs each work with a singular thumbprint.
The figurative language of our dreams is universal and spoken by all of humanity. The latest research in neuroscience has proven that ninety-eight percent of all mental processing happens subconsciously. How disconcerting that during our two percent of conscious thought, humanity is greatly divided by religion, race, sexual orientation, gender, nationalism, and politics. Citizen Grey challenges the notion of the Other by accentuating humanity’s native tongue, during the hours at night when we are all of a like mind.
Each work in Our Blurry Mind’s Eye series measures 24 x 24 inches or 24 inches diameter, in reference to the ancient symbol of a Mandala. Also a religious symbol, Mandalas have appeared throughout early Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and Christianity, and were reintroduced into Western thought through Carl Jung's pioneering exploration of the unconscious. The Mandala is a cosmic diagram that references the self, and serves to organize our thoughts and seemingly random dream symbols during intense personal growth. Rendered in both round and square formats, the circular icon is symbolic of the inner Self, while the square icon alludes to the manner in which we have shaped our world based upon that Self.
Our Blurry Mind’s Eye borrows properties from both types of Mandalas. Subsequently, each composition reads like a double exposure. As if mimicking a dream, many disparate images, symbols, forms and figures pair together to fill both positive and negative space. Upon closer examination, a mosaic of seemingly disconnected images start to meld into meaningful patterns, revealing what Jung called “the collective unconsciousness.” This part of the psyche retains and transmits the common psychological inheritance of mankind. It also dispenses the symbolic language of our dreams.