SELECTED WORK
TELOS: AFTER THOUGHT
Telos: After Thought materializes a burgeoning philosophy taking root in Grayson’s studio practice. Telos, from the Greek τέλος, translates to “end”, “object”, “purpose”, signifying finality to be the ultimate pursuit of any action. While purpose is concerned with acquisition — a solution for measuring up to preeminent judgement — the alternative is a suspension of judgement in the interest of furthering observation. Ontologically speaking, these sensibilities are diametrically opposed, but where these temperaments collide is a space that invites opportunity to explore. Possibility prevails where purpose is not a means to an end.
COCOON
In his latest solo installment, Grayson explores concepts of metamorphosis, emergence, and notions of self, in relation to the human psyche. Drawing from aspects of these concepts, this body of work attempts to transcend a sense of duality — the perception of self and other as separate — instead instilling in viewers a state of awareness that begins and ends with the self.
Just as an arthropod’s chrysalis involves a state of being in which both caterpillar and butterfly exist in utero, Cocoon suggests the same comparison in terms of the human experience. Although both caterpillar and butterfly are implied in the process, the cocoon exists as neither, but rather as a medium through which change is experienced. In the same vein, notions of self and other are both conceived in the mind before either can be perceived as reality. As our perceptions become realized, so do the means by which we experience subsequent notions of ourselves and others; and ourselves in others. In this manner, the mind — like a cocoon — is a medium through which we shape ourselves, and experience the world around us.