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1. Gang Member and the Master Thief, 2007, ink on paper, 30" x 21"
2. Spare Tire? Anyone…..? (Confucius pulls his boat across the desert.), 2008, coffee,
     ink, and collage element, on paper, 12" x 16"
3. Lao Tzu, and a Bird, 2007, India ink on paper, 10" x 8"

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1. Untitled, 2008, mixed media, 20" x 14"
2. Squid Heaven (Where do we go when we dream?), 2007, mixed media, 18" x 24"
3. You've lost your head over a mere insect, my dear., 2007, mixed media, 18" x 24"
4. A cosmic dream of the cosmic ocean floating in cosmic wonderfulness (Space Dog).,
     2007, mixed media, 18" x 24"
     Collaboration with Brandon Phillips
5. Phosphatase auto-dephosphorylation (or: "How Hermes was sundered from the
     Aphrodite by the eyezerbeams of Zeus, resulting in that thing we call History."), 2007,
     mixed media, 18" x 24"
     Collaboration with Brandon Phillips

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1. Primordial Oöze, 2006, watercolour and ink on paper, 12" x 16"
2. An atypical soil profile, 2007, watercolour on paper, 16" x 12"
3. Complex representation of the Global Food Web (Or: "For nine days
     does Jesus Christ hang upon the world tree, Ygg-Drasil, as a sacrifice
     to Himself."), 2007, watercolour and ink on paper, 18" x 24"
4. Three Stooges, 2007, watercolour on paper, 36" x 28"
5. Leaf, floating down a stream (in with the Whirl, out with the Twirl), 2007,
     watercolour and ink on paper, 16" x 12"
6. Tree (Lost Creek Wilderness, CO), 2007, ink and wash on paper,
     9" x 12"
7. Butterfly Dream, 2007, watercolour and ink on paper, 12" x 9"

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Contact Information
4835 Cedar Street
Philadelphia, PA 19143
tel: 540-588-4101
werdnus@gmail.com
Please contact artist for purchases, commissions, etc.

Artist Statement
In my art I strive to communicate several things to my viewers.

The first is a scientific understanding of the world. I want my paintings to communicate on a level that is subconscious to most viewers, which will trigger them to think critically about natural phenomena. I use the visual analogues of poetic devices to create metaphors for scientific reality, allowing the viewer to be submersed in mythico-religious imagery familiar to them from the Western cannon. That imagery, which speaks to them on a subconscious level, tells them a story of scientific reality. Whether that is innate to the subconscious and the images, or conditioned by upbringing within a given culture is debatable, but the results are the same: a visceral message is passed.

Also, I want to bring Eastern thought into the Western artistic tradition. The philosophical foundation of Taoism can be used as a starting place to contemplate the natural world in a scientific manner. Additionally, I try to use humour when I can to set the viewer at ease, to make him or her feel comfortable thinking about the implications and layered meanings behind a particular piece. Absurdity is, I feel, a gateway into realms of higher understanding, for what can be more absurd than the creation of art itself, in the face of a universe many billions of times older than our entire civilization? Once we have embraced that, and come to the understanding that it does not matter, we can do anything.

Anything at all.

Education
2007
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA
BS, Biology; Minor: Chemistry, Psychology
Summa cum Laude

Professional Experience
2002-2003
Organizer / Administrator, Tongue Poetry and Spoken-word, Roanoke, VA

Director of Art for Advertising, Cosmic Sun Theatre, Roanoke, VA

Selected Exhibitions

2008
Make IT, XYZ Gallery, Blacksburg VA

Biology Department Art Show, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA

2006
Fenwick Art Show, Richmond, VA
Juried Exhibition

Gutenberg Cafe, Richmond, VA