I love to travel to new countries. Seeing the everyday through fresh eyes is so inspiring. Going out with my camera and sketch book is great for getting new ideas. I tend to get carried away and become totally spontaneous in new surroundings. I think this combination helps me to produce some of my best work.
For me, my work is a mirror of my life. That is certainly true of a lot of artists, in particular Tracey Emin whose work relates events from her life.
I find it fascinating the way her contemporary Gillian Wearing-a naturally shy personality-has found her creative outlet by being a voice for other people.
It seems most artists subject matter reflects their own personalities, however both Emin and Wearing’s approaches reflect and record the times in which they live.
More and more it is apparent to me that it’s the collective whole that produces the bigger picture when one looks at the emerging art scene, as is so evident when looking back at what has gone before and seeing past works in their own context.
Some of the themes my work looks at include tension, anxiety, adversity, the therapeutic qualities to be found in art, the confessional, use of text in painting, and also contains a strong autobiographical element.
I looked at Louise Bourgeois, Tracey Emin, Grayson Perry and Gillian Wearing for my dissertation as I feel these artists identify very strongly with these themes in their work.
In putting together my 2012 catalogue during my 2nd year at UCS I found it really helpful in looking at my work as an entire body. Previously I tended to focus on my current work, seeing it in isolation. The catalogue experience helped demonstrate that each work represents a small part of an emerging larger picture and dermonstrates my growing confidence as an artist.
I read recently that Mondrian chose not to frame his work as he did not feel it should be cordoned off from the world, but form part of it. I think that is a very interesting point. The idea makes the work seem so much more relevent.
Another point on this subject that I have picked up is one made by Robin – that my paintings work best when grouped together. A kind of dialogue seems to open up between the various works. Which for me was an unexpected and interesting point to emerge.
Here is a video from earlier in the year. Remembering one of our wettest winters since records began, the inspiration for this piece was my reflection on how water is the essential recycler. It cleanses, refreshes, and regenerates our world. I thought it would be interesting to explore how water, as the essential natural recycling agent interacted with our everyday approach to recycling.
So on a day when heavy rain was forecast, I went to a recycling centre in Ipswich to reflect on how the natural and artificial recycling elements or processes interacted.
At the time I was considering how best to capture my thoughts and reflect them in my work. I thought maybe a photo or some sketches would be really good. However, watching the rain as it fell, convinced me that the best way to convey what was happening was via the medium of video.
I feel that the footage I captured is particularly interesting as it interprets how water as a natural recycling agent acts as a lens through which we can view man’s realisation of recycling.
The way the image drifts in and out of focus, distorting the viewers perspective and ultimately coming back to the original image, is in itself an illustrative example of recycling. It’s happening right in front of you. This reminds the viewer that recycling is a dynamic process and that methods such as photographs, sketches or paintings are probably not the best way of portraying it.
The sound of the heavy rain falling adds an extra dimension. In essence it contributes a familiar sountrack to an ongoing and everyday cycle.
recycling
I took this photograph a couple of weeks ago. I think a level of tension is added to the image by the way it is framed by shooting through the ajar door. The fire escape scene with the vivid reds and stark black contrast is very atmospheric and the figures standing out in the night air have a certain Nighthawks quality as captured in American artist Edward Hopper’s (1882-1967), painting of that name, which was painted in 1942.
Next I would like to move to the latest painting on which I have been working. I took the inspiration from my video Time Machine, which is available to view on the first blog after my introductory entry. I have attempted to capture the sense of liquids swirling fast through a high spinning helix where light pours through the central axis.
The Swiss artist Caro Niederer (b. 1963), is one who uses her existing works, reworking photographs, drawings and paintings to, for example to create carpets. It seems a good way to explore subject matter and employ a myriard of techniques to interesing effect.
