Since 2006, I have incorporated video as a fundamental element in my artistic practice, they fuel my paintings and prints. To me, responding to video is akin to responding to nature – it’s all visual stimuli. These videos can also stand alone, yet also contribute to my installations alongside photos, paintings, and prints.
Working with video parallels working with paint in intriguing ways. I am consistently concerned with achieving an impactful presence and power, as well as generating interest through intricate detail, spatial arrangement, tonal variation, and colour. There’s a continuous dialogue, even a battle, between my artistic vision and the natural direction the video naturally wants to take. Understanding what the work requires, pushing its boundaries, refusing to settle for ‘easy,’ and confronting its challenges are all familiar aspects of the creative struggle that ultimately yield rewarding outcomes, often leading to unexpected realisations.
All the imagery in my videos originates from the camera lens and reflects a ‘seen’ reality, although many would describe them as abstract – a quality I appreciate for its ambiguity of origin.
John Berger observed that while a film is always moving forwards, a photo is retrospective, freezing and capturing past moments, holding them, unchanging. A photo can be viewed as endlessly or as briefly as the viewer desires; a film, or video, has a limited length, we stop viewing when the film ends – of course the viewer can be totally absorbed, but for a limited period. The process could be repeated, film even paused, but the experience seems to be diluted when compared to that of a static photo – ‘time’ is directed by the filmmaker or video-artist, not only the content and the formal elements.
In our technological world inundated with digital imagery, many only engage with visuals for fleeting moments. In this context it is interesting that paintings demand a different level of attention, one that may be challenging for many. Videos, on the other hand, are more accessible to a broader audience.
I am fascinated with the sublime versus the beautiful, and whether my work can convey these concepts; back in the day whilst researching the origins of the phenomenon, little did I know that I would be living in the town where the philosopher who first discussed the concept was MP. Edmund Burke’s book of 1757: A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful has strongly impacted how and why I make art. Burke believed that the sublime was “the strongest passion,” he looked down on the beautiful, claiming that it was “merely prettiness”. While some may perceive my work as beautiful on the surface, it often conceals darker themes and perhaps hints at the ‘terror’ associated with the sublime. This dual nature – beauty masking depth – is what imbues my work with its power. However, I don’t claim that my work is inherently sublime; that interpretation depends on the openness of the viewer.
My current video series delves into the theme of ‘self’ through the exploration of my blood – its flow, movement, reaction to air and heat, and the way it appears under different lighting conditions. These initial explorations spark numerous ideas and possibilities for further development. Currently, I’m captivated by the beautiful delicate details and subtle marks captured in the videos, but love that they shroud the darker theme of my current work.
