Paul Loughney received his MFA in 2006 from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.

In part of my new series, text merges with the landscape to address systems that aim at informing and controlling human behavior through means such as propaganda, sloganeering and self-help phrases. While many of the source materials display a range of landscapes, the blending with text develops into a kind of psychic landscape in our minds; a space where we absorb, digest and internalize the daily bombardment of words and images. As with certain types of advertising, the actual ‘product’ is not revealed at first, but relies upon the patience and desires of the viewer to engage with it. The results are highly complex and layered collages that take their time to reveal all its parts. In our attention economy, I am to create an experience that rewards slow looking.

Utilizing landscape and portrait as a point of departure, I consider it a type of visual anchor allowing me to pursue themes pervasive throughout my images: psychological, psychedelic, erotic undertones; trafficking in esoteric and occult symbols; the illusion of impossible situations. Simultaneous narratives are a desired result.

FUCK YOUR LIES 2
Collage mounted on panel
30 x 22.5 x 1 inch, 2025