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“This is my art. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My art is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me my art is useless. Without my art, I am useless. I must fire my art true. I must shoot straighter than the enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. I will. My art and I know that what counts in war is not the rounds we fire, the noise of our burst, or the smoke we make. We know that it is the hits that count. We will hit.
My art is human, even as I am human, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weaknesses, its strengths, its parts, its accessories, its sights and its barrel. I will ever guard it against the ravages of weather and damage as I will ever guard my legs, my arms, my eyes and my heart against damage. I will keep my art clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready. We will become part of each other. Before you I swear this creed. My art and I are the defenders. We are the masters of our enemy. We are the saviours of my life. So be it.”

-adaptation of the USMC's “Rifleman's Creed”

As artists we are in the unique position to comment on the elements and functioning of our society. Art can expose and illuminate, offer contrasting perspectives and open discussion on any aspect of society to which we turn our gaze. I believe this to be art's ultimate function and it is to this aim that I strive to make art.
As an artist I have always been interested in methodologies and the practise of art making. In the past I have made work that has explored my own role as an artist and my own practise of making art. In more recent work I have looked at action and labour in relation to art. I have mainly considered myself a painter but over the past two years I have extensively explored the medium of video and have discovered the possibilities of that medium in addressing issues of time and action.
I am currently exploring the thread that weaves through the mediums of photography, film and painting. Photography fulfilled a certain function of painting by stilling time and a place. Film reanimated that space/time through the movement of still frames. Recent digital technologies have enabled one to again freeze film and animate the still photograph. I am interested in exploring the possibilities of movement and time within painting and the medium of paint within film in a attempt to bring all three mediums together.
Our contemporary world is bombarded with images. How do we make meaningful images or artworks in such a world? I am influenced by our current environment of mass images, cross platform materiality, multimedia, remix and internet culture that all lead to mass meshing of mediums and material. A multi-disciplinary practise seems to be inherent in contemporary culture. I want to create paintings/videos and photographs that manipulate time and movement in unconventional ways. I am interested in using the technology of one medium in the making of another.

Adam Tragakis lives and works in British Columbia, Canada.

All works are for sale unless otherwise noted. Please contact the artist at atragakis@gmail.com for pricing and delivery arrangements.