Artists Statement

 Moving to Alaska in 1983 exposed me to the forces of the natural world, changed my life, and transformed my art. Living on the edge of the Tongass National Forest with deep woods on one side and the deep ocean on the other is magical for me and informs  my art like no other influence. It fueled my creative spirit and filled me with an urge to try and translate the raw power of the wild natural world to paper and canvas. Oddly enough, fish became my emissaries to that world.

 It’s fairly obvious when looking at my work that I’m obsessed with the creatures of the watery realm of our planet, but why? It’s hard to explain an obsession rationally and I’ve been asked countless times. In short, I say, I find the fish fascinating and with over 25,000 living species to choose from the selection is inexhaustible. I also say that sea creatures have become vehicles for my moods, my thoughts, and my opinions about the human condition and our own place in the grand biological scheme of things. Sometimes whimsically, sometimes menacing and edgy, the fish lead me on, diving deeper into creative explorations.

As I spent more time in the aquatic wonderland, my curiosities led me to befriend scientists and writers. I came to realize that scientific inquiry and artistic inquiry overlap beautifully as both disciplines seek to ‘know the world’ in complex and elegant ways. I’ve embarked on many an adventure since then and have found myself in some pretty strange places – crawling around on my hands and knees looking for trilobite fossils on a tiny Southeast Alaskan island or deep in the Amazon rainforest wrestling caimans at night. My creative batteries have been endlessly recharged by these associations with my scientist pals. The cross currents between art, science, music and literature are the waters in which I prefer to swim.

 I’ve also found it immensely gratifying to share my sense of artistic adventure with other inspired adventurers through collaborative art projects, exhibits, lectures, performance events, and books. It is especially rewarding to pass that sense of wonder and delight onto the next generation when I speak and teach at schools and universities. Those connections make my engagement with fish, science, and the natural world resonate beyond my own obsessions, for which I am eternally grateful.

 Ray Troll