First Principles
These are the first principles that guide my artwork. They emerged from my research into horror, psychology, symbolism, and audience response, and act as the underlying logic behind the work that appears on this site.
Context
These are the first principles behind my artwork.
They are the recurring constraints that emerged through research and experimentation, and now function as the underlying logic behind the next series of work I plan to produce (should this website ever get finished...).
In practice they operate like a creative brief or guide.
My Artistic First Principles
1. Transformation Through Decay
Principle
Nothing is static. Everything exists in a state of deterioration, mutation, or corruption.
Application
- Procedural degradation
- Flickering imagery
- Visual erosion
- Elements that gradually reveal hidden forms
Psychological Effect
The viewer experiences the unsettling sensation of witnessing something slowly rot, transform, or reveal a second state beneath the surface.
2. Identity as a Fluid, Unstable Construct
Principle
Identity is ambiguous and layered rather than singular and fixed.
Application
- Masks
- Distorted or fragmented faces
- Doppelgängers
- Ritualised anonymity
Psychological Effect
The viewer’s instinct to categorise and identify is undermined, producing a mixture of fascination and unease.
3. Theatre as Horror (Performative Dread)
Principle
Performance becomes unsettling when it appears deliberate, ritualised, or exaggerated.
Application
- Ballet and theatrical gestures
- Masquerade imagery
- Operatic postures
- Stylised bodily movement
Psychological Effect
Familiar cultural performances become distorted. Elegance begins to feel ceremonial, artificial, or ominous.
4. Cosmic Horror & Psychological Disintegration
Principle
Horror often emerges when meaning begins to collapse.
Application
- Fragmented narrative structure
- Disjointed or looping animation
- Text that degrades or rewrites itself
- Imagery that refuses stable interpretation
Psychological Effect
The viewer attempts to reconstruct meaning but cannot fully stabilise it, creating a subtle sense of cognitive instability.
5. Ritual & Forbidden Knowledge
Principle
The suggestion of hidden or forbidden knowledge is inherently unsettling.
Application
- Esoteric symbols
- Sigil-like typography
- Fragmentary text
- Visual references to ritual systems
Psychological Effect
The viewer feels as though they are witnessing something secretive or transgressive—information that was not intended to be fully understood.
6. Visual & Sensory Deception
Principle
The work should behave unpredictably and challenge perception.
Application
- Optical distortions
- Procedural glitches
- Light-dependent details
- Visual elements that shift on repeated viewing
Psychological Effect
The piece feels unstable, as though it might behave differently depending on how it is observed.
7. Layered Symbolism & Mythic Horror
Principle
The most enduring horror draws from archetypes and collective memory.
Application
- Folklore references
- Gothic symbolism
- Mythological motifs
- Recurring symbolic imagery
Psychological Effect
The viewer experiences a sense of familiarity that is difficult to place, as if the work belongs to an older cultural memory.
Synthesis
Taken together, these principles define the environment in which my work will evolve.
The aim is to create visual systems that feel unstable, symbolic, and psychologically active.
When these principles interact successfully, the work stops behaving like a static image, and instead begins to feel like something that is alive, decaying, and unfolding in real time.