Insight
I have spent many years engaged in technology related projects dealing with people, procedures and information in a manner primarily driven by business imperatives and logic. As a contrast to this my studio practice is focused on using the body and human presence as a metaphor for creative inquiry. Painting for me is a ritual used to explore issues of human representation, intimacy and disconnection at a time when technology and virtual media is redefining our experience and perception of them.
The human body is readily sexualised. Yet it is the visceral energy and psyche contained within the body, not its sexuality, which intrigues and informs my painting. In my images the human form often emerges or is suggested from out of the obscurity of marks and paint. The painting process often involves scraping the surface back using palette knives, sandpaper, and rags. The head, body and
face is then re-constructed in parts, or allowed to fade and dissolve into shadows.
Re-painting or resurfacing a work is a physical and intellectual act… to me painting should always be prepared to confront the possibility of failure or destruction head-on. When there is nothing left to interrogate then I am done painting.
Interview
August 2008 - Interview with the artist conducted by Brian Sherwin senior editor of www.myartspace.com
"Your portraits and figures seem to have a level of psychology about them… as if you are exploring the human condition with your process... " read more
I have spent many years engaged in technology related projects dealing with people, procedures and information in a manner primarily driven by business imperatives and logic. As a contrast to this my studio practice is focused on using the body and human presence as a metaphor for creative inquiry. Painting for me is a ritual used to explore issues of human representation, intimacy and disconnection at a time when technology and virtual media is redefining our experience and perception of them.
The human body is readily sexualised. Yet it is the visceral energy and psyche contained within the body, not its sexuality, which intrigues and informs my painting. In my images the human form often emerges or is suggested from out of the obscurity of marks and paint. The painting process often involves scraping the surface back using palette knives, sandpaper, and rags. The head, body and
face is then re-constructed in parts, or allowed to fade and dissolve into shadows.
Re-painting or resurfacing a work is a physical and intellectual act… to me painting should always be prepared to confront the possibility of failure or destruction head-on. When there is nothing left to interrogate then I am done painting.
Interview
August 2008 - Interview with the artist conducted by Brian Sherwin senior editor of www.myartspace.com
"Your portraits and figures seem to have a level of psychology about them… as if you are exploring the human condition with your process... " read more