» undergrowth (2022) graphite, wax, magazine ink on rice paper, 73 x 112 cm
Autumn Leaves
Showcasing a selection of my 'Autumn leaves' series at Hatch Gallery this February - a body of work I've been developing since winter 2021, encapsulating traces of foliage collected from the woods close to my family's home in Dorset, UK. The technique of frottage attempts to preserve something already decomposing using a variety of unusual processes - exploring themes of memory and time through an intervention into the natural cycles of decay and regrowth.
The process of frottage derives from this concern to disrupt the image. This literal connotation started as a simple gesture to destroy the image, the loaded implications behind it, and became a solution to produce ink to create a new image, this one directly harnessing the properties of the material. Experimental and automatic, the process forces certain restrictions, thus the work also relates to one of the principal dilemmas which govern our lives: the need for order, whilst simultaneously nurturing a desire for freedom, a theme which runs paramount throughout my work process to date.
Seasons are signposts, visible reminders of our natural rhythms. The emphasis on the sense of place and time makes this exhibition date and talk an important part of the work, more than one year later after its initial conception. This work resonates deeply within my own personal evolution as an artist and connects strongly with external events in my life. Presenting opposing forces - those that perpetuate change and those that hold back for reflection, the work as a deeply personal channel becomes an opportunity to reflect on a period of rapid global change.
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» autumn (2022) leaves, wax,
magazine ink on japanese rice paper, 49 x 49 cm |
» exuberant dichotomy (2022)
watercolour frottage on Japanese rice paper, 61 x 53 cm |
The selection of works above are showing in the exhibition WHITE & GOLD at Hatch Gallery, 26th February - 24th March 2023
Transcript from Artist talk held on 26th Feb 2023