In my work I try to explore different facets of my creativity and personality. My collages are very political and focuses some of my anger and humor on a particular issue or person. The media produces so many contradictory images that sifting through all of the insanity is part of the fun. I then recycle and rearrange in a subversive effort to get at the core of what I feel is really going on. The mixed media portraits I do, concentrate on interpreting the diversity of the human face, with the use of different textures, expressions, colors, materials and of course subject matter whether real or imagined. Finally, in the last few years photography has become my new passion. Whereas my collages and mixed media paintings are mostly about the human form dominating a piece, my photography's main themes are not just about people per se but the buildings and streets etc. that we as a society have created and inhabit. Being the son of an ironworker and the grandson of an ironworker and a carpenter, I'm proud of my blue collar background. So by me photographing the many styles of architecture/neighborhoods that stand in the city that I grew up in, I am acknowledging it's physical history and the people who built it; people like my father and grandfathers. Another difference is in the process of the work itself in which I strike a balance. In my picture taking I'm wandering and recording other peoples' handywork in the outside world. While my collages and mixed medias are produced with me sitting at the table or on the floor putting my thoughts and ideas down on to paper and board. The one thread that passes through my work is my interest in history: the conflicts, the intrigues, the struggles, the brutality, the beauty, the destruction, and the creativity.
-Mark Rembe  2005