Sean Christopher Ward

Chromatic Hallucinations

“Chromatic Hallucinations” is a body of work that focuses on the ideals of pattern. Different colors and shapes vary meanings throughout different cultures, but the idea is carried down from generation to generation. From birth to death, pattern is a part of everyday life and cultural practice. The drive to recognize and form patterns can be from a glimpse into curiosity, discovery of new ideas and experimentation through everyday life. The more patterns we can recognize, the wider our imaginative and creative scope. Humanity responds dramatically to balanced pattern so much so that it has been researched to reduce stress levels by as much as 60 percent, just by being the field of vision of the viewer. The more you are thinking about pattern, the more you can see patterns all around you. The future of intelligence is in making our patterns better, our heuristics stronger. One thing is clear, and that is being able to recognize patterns is much what gave humans their evolutionary edge over animals.

Cognitive Expedition

“Cognitive Expedition” is a body of works that goes back to the roots of my design process. It is the core process in which all my paintings are created. Beginning as rough sketched studies, to the final form of idealized rendering via ink on paper. Everything starts somewhere and for the fully psychedelic paintings to stand out so iconically, I need to create the works in black and white first, as studies, in order to see the kinetic dance of the black and white fighting for dominance in the optics. Typically, this step of the process is done behind the scenes, but as 2024 has been a year of unknowns with my health and body, I wanted to share my processes even further than normal, as the process itself is a work of art on its own. Each of the artworks are drawn with Micron archival pens on Arches BFK paper which will ensure they last a lifetime under proper care. Each piece is made in one go and if errors happen, then they are destroyed and never released to the public. So, this collection is filled with the works that have made it through the challenges of being a perfectionist and attention driven artist.

Dream Machine

“Dream Machine” is a body of works in which pays homage to the eight years and growing that I have been creating backdrops and video jockeying for dj’s around the world. This work activates and enlivens my static designs I have created and turns them into something extraordinary that constantly evolves via coded algorithms, for those who want something flashier and interchangeable for their homes or offices. While the process is known to many, the creations are that of my own created using some of the best software available to animators and designers worldwide. Currently, I utilize Adobe After Effects, Resolume and Synaesthesia to create all of these artworks.

Expanded Perceptions

“Expanded Perception” was began this year, specifically for Art Basel, to gain a deeper understanding within multi-planed works of art and the effects of psychedelic color combinations would have on the subject. Each of these works are multiple layers, with some having as many as ten, or others having as few as four. Within each layer, a meticulous amount of paint is added to the resin coats and through the usage of a size 0 or 00 brush, it is very carefully added to the wood panel or resin to keep the shape that was created from diverging out of its boundaries within my own imagination. Much like all my works, these works are part of the “op art” movement that allows movement within a static piece, so the overall visual appearance is more kinetic in nature. Without stepping into too much detail along the process, each of these works take, at minimum, weeks to create, no matter the size. Each layer of paint takes at minimum a day to complete, then each layer of resin takes three days to fully cure to add the next layer of paint on top of it. Much like the works of Jackson Pollock, the environment of the artist is added within each layer of paint, so you will find spills, mistakes, dust, flora or anything of the like that was part of my daily ritual, all by chance, but left in place as the art is created in its realist form, that of which holds a piece of the artists’ life within every layer.

Fading Identities

“Fading Identities” is an homage to the individuals of our past and present, who may not always be there as a picture-perfect image in your mind, but rather, as a general image of their identity. This is not something that is intentioned to occur, but it is just a process of being human and having fragments, or pieces, of these memories unavailable for recollection. Working, or short-term, memory provides very detailed mental images about a few things that have been on the individual’s mind. While long-term memory is about providing a vast assortment of numerous details, but all to a less crystal-clear image, which the memories, based on their experiences and sights, might seem fuzzy to the viewer. Over time, it is inevitable that the memories begin to fade from their crystalclear beginnings. We cannot always encode the details of these images perfectly, yet the human mind is a wonderful tool that consistently is able to interpret pieces of a memory and shape these mental forms into a successful recollection of the thought. Much like this process of memory, the façade of celebrity status is held on to in the same way. Whilst the celebrity is focused on by society the image remains clear, but as time progresses, the number of images of such celebrity flashing before the eyes of the viewer begins to dwindle. Over time, that celebrity’s image might fade, but pieces will always remain. Those pieces, like long-term memories, are preserved in the mind and in these paintings which thusly help keep the supports of our society alive within the mind.