Tobin Keller expands the definition of portraiture by layering images of the figure in a careful process that is analogous to the way the brain constructs and stores memory. Vast autobiographical reservoirs of memory are required for advanced levels of human consciousness. Keller uses multiple acrylic panels and includes experimental techniques such as digital transparencies, hair and monofilament. He further magnifies and distorts parts of the images by adhering acrylic cabachons. Each layer provides additive information about the image of a person who is either Keller’s close personal friend or family member. The portrait expands then to become both a reliquary and a documentation of visual layering, paralleling the way the brain stores and layers memory in developing consciousness.
TOBIN W KELLER