Several years ago, I began to investigate the function of myth as a vital form of basic psychological nutrition and wondered: What relevance or role does myth play in contemporary culture? Does the framework, the necessity for "mythology" even exist in our current condition? Or are things changing too fast to become mythologized? If so, then how is the imagination to be nourished? This investigation is shrouded in mystery, yet if mystery is manifest, then the universe becomes a holy picture. My paintings aim to express the radiance of my own discovery, albeit in symbolic form.

Bound by a macro versus micro framework, each piece of my cosmological puzzle consists of contemporary and historic imagery culled from sources as varied as cultural motifs, ancient pictograms, video games, geometry and the occult. Using both recognizable and obscure references, I create hybrid environments that merge the real with the fictitious resulting in themes of alienation, displacement, contradiction and wonder. Toxic colors fill pleasant shapes, geometric structures represent spiritual icons and childhood symbols are re-contextualized into a new language.

In this setting, elements collide. They amalgamate. Relationships are established. New messages and meaning sprout forth acting as portals into the realm of imagination, offering possibilities for what exists behind the visible world. Although temporary comfort may be found in isolated familiarities, there’s an underlying nostalgia for a time that doesn't yet exist. I envision each painting as an artifact of this sacred place.

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Email contact for Darren McManus: df_mcmanus (at) yahoo.com. For McManus' downloadable resumé, click here.