overview

My current art practice centres on the expression of Bayesian inference through art. Bayesian inference is a mathematical, philosophical and scientific framework for updating the probability of a hypothesis in light of new evidence. It describes how the brain constructs meaning from incomplete information by continuously revising its expectations as new signals appear.

Across painting, text and object-based works, my practice can be described as a form of conceptual abstraction concerned with cognition and metacognition. It is not about presenting fixed meanings, but about staging the formation of meaning itself. While the work may initially appear abstract, its deeper focus lies in making the process of interpretation visible.

My work draws on metaphors from neuroscience, psychology and natural systems, using layered surfaces, text and structural forms to reflect processes of perception and inference. Rather than illustrating scientific concepts directly, the work invites sustained attention and gradually reveals the transition from uncertainty to provisional understanding.

Cognition and metacognition are central to the practice. While all art engages cognition, not all art foregrounds it. Like much abstraction, my work explores colour, gesture, emotion and atmosphere. The difference lies in its focus on making the process of interpretation itself visible.

In cognition, the viewer encounters fragments, and the brain attempts to infer meaning through perception, inference and interpretation. In metacognition, the viewer becomes aware that this inference is taking place: they realise their brain is filling in gaps, and the artwork becomes a mirror of cognition itself.

Paintings such as Hidden Arbor explore images emerging from strata, obscured marks and concealed structures. Text works such as Art of Inference and Look Again include missing letters, partial words and language that may—or may not—be resolved. Object-based works such as Taxonomy of Cognition explore systems of classification and cognitive categorisation.

Taken together, the work explores how the human brain constructs meaning from incomplete information through processes of perception, inference and interpretation. It externalises Bayesian inference and mirrors how understanding is negotiated in art, in the mind and in life.