Patrick Burns

I consider my work to be conceptual and interdisciplinary in nature. Exploring a multitude of ideas and materials, I attempt to discern meaning from my personal history and how it determines the person I am today. I was raised in a rural, Civil-War-era town in West Virginia in a bi-racial, military family. This upbringing allowed me to see many of the contradictions that are inherent to the American experience. Multiculturalism, pride, nationalism, racism, and clashing ideologies were all integral to my growth and perspective as I came of age. You could say that I had an “All-American upbringing” –– a true taste of the melting pot.