His sincere devotion to drawing and painting is paralleled only by an interest in science, biology, and philosophy. In 2003, after one year of undergraduate work at The University of Texas at Austin, Wes broke his C5-C6 vertebrae in a diving accident, suffered a spinal cord injury and became paralyzed from the chest down. After a year of recovery and rehabilitation, it became apparent he would not regain use of his legs, abdomen or hands. Even though the life he knew had changed forever, it did not sway him from pursuing his goals for the future. If nothing else, he decided he was going to spend the rest of his life intensely engaged with his first passion, Art. He returned to The University of Texas, and later completed both his BA and BFA in studio art.
Wes’ work mostly explores the body and how society responds to the human form. In his paintings and drawings; sexuality, grotesque beauty, body ideals, vanity, and the ambiguity between pleasure and pain are all common themes. He references many of today’s popular media, including: magazine trimmings, Internet jpegs, medical book illustrations, and film stills. By experimenting with collage, composite layers, and superimposing images, he is literally able to deconstruct beauty and investigate how images interact. His work discusses memories & time, and how they inform the world around us (or our perception of that world). Masculinity, glorification of violence, growing up gay, gender norms and traversing boyhood into manhood all take on new meaning after a disability. Wes’ initial goal in his art making practice is to explore male-centric themes, but he strongly believes these topics cross social groups and speak to a universal struggle for acceptance and to embrace our differences. Wes is currently a candidate in the inaugural cohort of the MFA in Social Practice at The Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at George Washington University, and was an SFAI Creative Access Fellow.