Gail Martin: drawings and paintings

"An ongoing encounter with a homeless woman moved me to begin this series. I fragmented and distorted photographic images of my own beloved home, juxtaposing them in illogical abstractions. These collages became the source material for the drawings and paintings in this series. I want these images to disturb, not because they are ugly or horrible, but because they deny the satisfaction, the beauty, of stability. I want them to mirror the sense of displacement and insecurity, the loss of apparent safety, that comes with the loss of one's home.

We live in a culture that seems obsessed by our homes. We build unnecessarily large and ornate ones and buy endless magazines telling us what we should do with them. What have they come to symbolize? Does home connote a place of refuge - of untouchable stability and security? In truth, we know that our world and our bodies are inherently unstable, so aren't we all, in a deeper sense, homeless? The shock of the events of 9/11 engendered a long moment in which, collectively, we were faced with the undeniable and awful truth of the fragility of existence. Much that has ensued seems to have stemmed from a fervent desire to deny what we have seen, to regain some sense of personal and national security. I find that this ongoing series leads me to ever more pervasive questioning, and this questioning continues to drive the work. Can peace and security be found in this slippery and speeding world? Without denial, can we ever feel safe at home?"