The ground rolls.
Whether I am looking, perusing, or simply standing, feeling the solidity under me, it nevertheless possesses, embarks and gives a slow almost indiscernible rumble.
I am always humbled by the fact that it goes further and further below me, older than I can possibly imagine, a core, inner and outer, the latter made up of liquid iron and nickel – malleable, constantly changing, responsible for the earth’s magnetic field, the inner, mainly iron, dense and pressurised such that it behaves as a solid.
And the heat! This core, a burning mass, as hot as the sun. It defies explanation and feels to me like the outside is on the inside and the inside is on the outside. I love the idea of an earthly and cosmic connection entwinned intrinsically with our very being.
I have been working on a small series of mixed media works made of paper collage and painting where the painted ground plays an important part in determining the final piece. The collage fragments are pieces of photographs, loose cut outs of mainly nature and the urban environment.
After adhering them to the painted surface I step back to get an idea of what this composition so far suggests to me. Then working with paint, I follow what I see as patterns or movements. I try to leave a little time between each step, as this loosens up my perceptions. The earth spins and the ground that I stand on shifts and shudders as the way that I see things continually mutates.
