By using words and glass Derek Haverland expands the duality of meaning, overlapping words in order to create tension and conflict. Employing typographical processes, he creates illusory space. Inside this space Derek examines how we make the choices that define ourselves. This includes not only what others perceive on the surface, but also the reality that lies beneath.

The text etched onto bottles is intended to leave the viewer questioning the relationship between the message and the vessel. A circular cause and consequence relationship exists and, not unlike the chicken-and-egg dilemma, the viewers are forced to impose their own extrinsic experiences upon the work. As a result, the interpretation is a direct reflection of the self.

The flat glass pieces utilize similar or dynamically opposing terms as a point of departure. As common as the words may be, we must look at the relationship created by the juxtaposition of one word against the other. Derek's work examines the framework that lies in grey areas that are contradictions. Artist Derek Haverland finds these ambiguities most intriguing.