Statement

The work of Michael Wesley Ham generally deals with ideas of identity and how people, the places we come from, the places we have been, and the places we have dreamed of going influence those ideas. Throughout our lives we constantly are challenged to define ourselves through the lens of other peoples expectations, wants, and needs. Through his work Ham tries to find out how he has come to define himself, and how other people and places have influenced those definitions. In searching the past, present and himself, the ideas of sex, violence, religion, ritual, obsession and masculinity seem to be the most prevalent in defining the world around him. His work explores all of these ideas through the human figure, landscape, and objects. How do these ideas interact with each other and how does one define the other within oneself? The hope is that as Ham examines his experiences, the influences of people and places on these ideas becomes clearer.