M I T C H E L L: 

Immersion into the artist’s abstracted and mesmerizing imagery of emotive collections like Linear, Diaphanous, and Anamnesis, may be equated to visually experiencing ambient sound; in much of Mitchell’s work he engages senses beyond sight. It may not be the factual world we envision through the artist’s eyes or lens, but what we experience through his introspective mind which is so compelling. He explores contrasts within which we find ourselves between definition and uncertainty; past, present and future; reality and the imaginary; even life and death. In his work these opposites coexist in a paranormal state as we are transported to a limbo where the unreal becomes real, the subliminal becomes obvious and disturbance becomes peripheral. In this semi-conscious disconnect he imposes; the amorphous becomes transformed to a clear and tranquil reality. He discloses a mysterious view from one plane to another with obscured atmosphere in between as if to create a dreamlike state or intentional ambiguity perhaps referencing an unclear memory or a dream in which reality and the imaginary converge.

 

“I am searching for those slow motion frames from the mislaid footage of our lives, those elongated experiences we lost or slept through, echoes of memories, something in the midst of personal history, the blinkered image, the half frame peep beyond the curtain, it’s almost audible; the sound of snow—slightly deaf in one eye”, says Mitchell.

 

Mitchell introduces neurological phenomena such as in the Anamnesis collection (the term for jamais-vu) where the familiar becomes alien, and the Paramnesia collection (the term for déjà vu) causing delusional belief that a place or location has been duplicated, existing in two places concurrently, or that it has been 'relocated' to another site. It is one of the delusional misidentification syndromes and, although rare, can be associated with certain brain injuries or Left Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, a condition with which Mitchell was diagnosed only eight years ago.

 

Aside from the mysteriousness in the aforementioned collections where a sense of disconnect is prevalent, Mitchell created the antithetical Luminaries, work in the Spring of 2009. Although the Abstracts 2010 and Abstracts 2011 work was not created immediately following, it is evident the Luminaries collection was its inspiration. Collections past and present are related conceptually in the documentation of time passage or perhaps of memory collection and reconstruction; Mitchell’s latest body of untitled abstract work, progeny to the Luminaries collection, alludes to reconstruction of memory – only in this case with a clear and lucid intent. An account of memory – each work could be perceived as a visual diary depicting a collection of recollections articulated by the amalgamation of unrelated and random components. But combined as such, varying degrees of depth achieved through a practice of collage of materials and an astute understanding of color, light and composition, Mitchell produces a synergistic result in which the insignificant becomes reverential with his insightful and intuitive technique. Extraordinary images document his process and with his use of light, he captures the essence of luminosity which is a key element in this body of work involving the historically significant art of collage; the collection of engaging works, Abstracts 2010 and Abstracts 2011 denote a new archetype for Mitchell. The first characteristic one might notice is the architectonic constructivist collage of fragments and second, the luminosity introduced by the deft handling of light and use of multiple exposures. As an alchemist spins scrap metals into gold, Mitchell’s poetic assemblages of ephemera are choreographed compositions which before their deconstruction are chronicled through the lens. Photography becomes an extension of the process by documenting; a record of the creation. Although Mitchell is notorious for his stimulating titles, it has been his intention for some time to allow his work to speak for itself without embellishment of the written word - albeit titles or statements. He has accomplished this establishing a new paradigm with Abstracts 2010 by assigning only catalogue numbers as titles. Abstracts 2010 and Abstracts 2011, are process driven works whereby the collaged assemblage of ephemera forms an accounting of sorts. This creation of art before its photographic capture represents a departure in that Mitchell is both before and behind the lens; this body of work denotes a shift for Mitchell - visually as well as intellectually. Not only has he consciously left work untitled, he has introduced a vibrancy and harder edge dynamic not apparent in the ambiguity of earlier work such as the acclaimed Linear collection. Furthermore in not generating this work digitally, but rather physically in collage, he has entered a realm in which he is creating his own reality in assembling life’s fragments to chronicle passage of time or memory and visual accounting of growth and decay. Working with self-made filters, manufactured and found components, there is a distinct continuity as if materials may be repeated from one image to the next when in fact each work is unique incorporating a fresh combination of elements each time. The photographic documentation is the final phase of the process after which all the materials used in the arrangements are decommissioned. So in studying the final works, we might be left to question where did the images originate and did these places/subjects ever really exist. All we know with any certainty is that the images initiated in the mind of the artist and what these photographs depict ceases to exist in a tangible way. In Cat. No. AB 045, the image is distilled by an intuitive process of the juxtaposing of the platitude of color field with the significance of what seem to be random fragmented borders and translucency of colors. While viewing, one becomes immersed in the layers of what would appear to be snippets of faded, yellowed and stained tape and ragged edged torn papers which suggest a fragile impermanence and informality - a sense of something almost reminiscent as in the Luminaries: Windows which preceded this collection.

 

This work although without the artist’s intention, pays respect to works of Kazimir Malevich, Ferdinand Leger, Joseph Albers, Mark Rothko, Paul Klee, Georges Braque, and Stuart Davis among others conjuring a sense of nostalgia for mid-century modern art. But it is the combination of the creation of art and the construction of abstracted environments and photographic documentation which places Mitchell among twenty-first century contemporaries including Vik Muniz, Bill Armstrong, Laurie Simmons and Susan Rankaitis, just to site a few who are leading photography in a new direction. While these elite few, like Mitchell, are embracing digital technology, their foundations are deeply rooted in the fine art tradition of photography. Mitchell, having not formally studied the history of art has developed his sensitivity innately without influences of mid-century and post-modern art but none-the-less he employs a process inherent to this period. While intellectually poignant, he maintains a high aesthetic standard and although materials may appear to be composed with randomness, an organization is presented as his unique visual language giving order to chaos in the process. Art history, theory and practice of mid-twentieth-century abstraction, post-minimal and process-art are evident in this work although unintentionally. Mitchell, an insular man, distances himself from influences of the history of art as much as he is able to ensure his individuality. Although the creative process for Mitchell has been inherent throughout his fashion and commercial career, it is in his fine art to which he has segued, that he reaches a higher level of aesthetic and conceptual thinking to which both, his imagery is testament. His inspiration is internally environmental in respect to living with Left Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, a neurological condition associated with aura oriented seizures which can create a temporary altered state of consciousness. In these episodes his physical and mental awareness can become intensified and dimmed concurrently. The onset of this condition has enhanced his sensory perception denoting a pivotal point in his career.

 

We all may be memory collectors from our plastic camera holidays but behind the lens there are those of us who take pictures and those of us who are artists. Undeniably when Mitchell is behind the lens, he is a consummate artist. Lynn Dunham