Monday 3 July 2017

The ebb & flow 

... still searching ... moments of  ...  

understanding ... not understanding ... clarity ... confusion ... wonderment ... disillusionment ...

Regardless of how long I have been a practicing artist, the ebb & flow of creativity is still, a seesaw; a careful balancing act, one in which I am both instigator and onlooker, reacting to something; invariably uncertain of its outcome until (possibly) much later on. All of this dialogue constantly moving back & forth between demand and response creates, extreme highs and lows. Of course, it's a natural part of the creative process but it certainly doesn't get any less mentally exhausting.

On the other hand, Andy Warhol said ' Don't think about making art, just get it done...'

Early part of the year involved preparing for a new group exhibition:




It was great to be exhibiting with Inge and Sam, artists whose work I admire, working respectively in glass and photography. We were working around a loose theme; so loose that we did not actually talk about what we were proposing and, in fact, it wasn't until the hanging day that we each found out what each other were showing. It was such a pleasant surprise to see how well the work went together and this was something that a lot of visitors commented on.
 
I began exploring the idea of "Lost Heritage", thinking about the textile industry and how it was originally so important to the Scottish Borders, every town having a mill; the reality now is different, whilst a few places still exist, it is on a very small scale.

Using screens that had photographic knitted patterns on them (courtesy of Grace at HWU), the starting point was to randomly print onto the canvasses and to then work out its direction.




 




Lost Heritage Nō 1


Lost Heritage Nō 2


Lost Heritage Nō 3


Lost Heritage Nō 4


Lost Heritage Nō 5



Lost Heritage Nō 6


Lost Heritage Nō 7

Naturally things seep into the psyche and can present themselves in unexpected ways. The following works are a mash up of responses to world events, not as a direct result of one particular thing; I cannot help but be affected by the consequences of interference in other societies and how this perpetuates a ripple effect. A sense of disassociation is ever present, soundbites and spin, we are encouraged to abhor atrocities (and quite rightly) but not those carried out in our name? We never deal with the elephant in the room! 

In 'Payload Overview' there is the irony in the delicate translucent airy quality of looking down onto a tapestry landscape moments before the cargo of destruction will impact. I have always been struck by the video footage from bombing sorties on the news and how we see them as images, so far removed from the reality. It becomes pure cinema, edited and pictorially pleasing. In this regard, there is a sense of irony in all of my images too. 

Payload Overview


Lament


Growth


Barrier

Bereavement



Consequence Nō 3


State of Flux



Wasteland


Displacement Nō 4

Drawing still remains an integral part of my practice and, in particular the challenge of direct observational drawing. It forces you to take time out in this fast moving immediate world, to question what it is that you are seeing and, attempt to solve the problem in front of you.


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