PAULETTA CHANCO

Statement + Curriculum Vitae

Visual Metaphor: Representing the Sacred and the Profane:

My current body of work was inspired by ancient Buddhist teachings. “The Turning of the Wheel,” the discourse that primarily motivated this work, concerns transforming our relationship to suffering. Challenging situations are an inevitable aspect of everyday life, but this teaching offers ways to get off the wheel where we tend to remain caught in suffering.

As a consequence of studying this discourse, I’ve incorporated images of the turning wheel into my painting as a visual metaphor. Aspects of the wheel are sometimes concealed and at other times revealed in the layered veils of paint that create a sense of space.  For me, the act of concealment represents the ways that we continue to suffer and not strive to transform, usually due to ignorance. Revealing some visual glimmer or aspect of the wheel in the work suggests awareness of the possibility of awakening. The visual metaphors that I use in my compositions and painting process represent the challenges that we all seek to transform, whether through studio practice or our actions in everyday life.

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