The objects I create art with are leftovers from the past. They are things neglected, forgotten, discarded and unappreciated. They have gone beyond their usefulness and practicality. They have survived even though they seemingly have no purpose. They are the unseen and unheard. Their existence is like the existence of things within us that we have not acknowledged. Things we think better off forgotten. Yet these very things keep resurfacing and reminding us that we have not come to terms with them. They live on in their dark spider webby attic corners, in boxes hidden in the basement, or in the trash pile down the street. These objects have a story to tell — if only we take time to listen. Through “re-visioning” these found objects I hope to give viewers an experience of the wonder and whimsy I rediscovered within myself.
My work is a way to inspire imagination and give the past a future life filled with meaning. If old things can be transformed then so can we!
Tom Peeper is not sure what he’s looking for, yet he keeps looking nevertheless. Sometimes he looks in places he should not. He is a reminder of what it means at times to be human. That unrelenting search for things outside that can only be found within.