Drawing from mythology, astrology, and ritual, John Sturgeon employs symbolic systems within his videos to explore individual consciousness.  Sturgeon creates his own language out of everyday elements, such as water or ice; yet in his poetic orchestration of video technology, he articulates the universal search for self-knowledge.  His work from the mid-1970s consists of tightly edited, multi-layered imagery strongly influenced by Jungian psychology and dream analysis.

As his own spiritual search became the subject of his work, the actions depicted in many of Sturgeon’s early tapes eventually extended outside the monitor, often including the element of live performance and sculptural and video installation.  Initially reflecting a characteristically West Coast consciousness that could even be described as “New Age”, Sturgeon’s work has continued to embrace new media and interactive forms in an ongoing exploration of ritual and universal experience.