Biography
Lewis D. Officer is a British-American painter born in Stockton-on-Tees, UK, on April 13th, 2001, with a studio based in Camden, NJ. His work deals within the vast realm of internet culture, meme imagery, and American fishing culture. He is currently a student pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Painting from Rutgers University-Camden, and he started his academic career as a computer science student, having obtained an Associate’s degree from Camden County College in Blackwood, NJ. Although he did not start pursuing art until the age of 22, his creativity has always been celebrated, and he was self-proclaimed as the “Most Creative Student” in his early school years. He was raised in an era of internet culture that molded the identity of his generation that many refer to as the “Wild Web,” and which shapes a large part of the person he is today. His fish shine like beacons of light, detailing the deeper delusion that lies within his art.
Statement
In my work I explore the unique emotional expression that exists in meme and internet culture. I use humor and absurdity to describe the complex digital environment that we all try so desperately hard to navigate in the modern day. What lies behind seemingly random and bizarre compositions is abstract meaning and intention, seeking to visualize and articulate many of the experiences that I, as well as many others in my generation, have been through. By carefully combining and then painting familiar imagery that has been present throughout my lifetime, I invite others to analyze the true meanings and origins of said imagery that we usually only perceive for a few seconds, before moving on to something else. Additionally, I invite the viewer to come up with their own interpretations for the images I use, and how they can relate those meanings to their own personal lives. In a way, I worship the seeds of internet culture that have sprouted into the complex virtual world that we all live in today.