I have been a censored artist in several national exhibition situations, resulting in my work being removed from exhibitions or excluded due to the perceived inflammatory nature of its content and context. I am acutely interested in and fascinated by the issues raised by the work in addressing the false "universal" societal constructs-racism, community, and environments-their intersection with myth, their pervasiveness, and society's willingness to unquestioningly absorb them. I further intend these works to be fertile juxtapositions, focusing on the deconstruction of and demystification of stereotyped images as they relate to universal oppression or issues of hybridity. A reconsideration of Holocaust as a means to redefine authenticity is also a focus of my work.

John Montford
March 2007