Works on Paper
Artist in Residence at Ventnor Botanic Gardens - Summer 2021
Forever enthralled by the unknown and unseen, I use my pen to imagine what goes on below the ground in the series of A1 drawings Above and Below - an interpretation of trees interconnectivity through root systems and mycorrhizal networks. The works draw attention to the unobserved, powerful, subterranean world and and aim to create intrigue and awareness for the forest.
I unite observation, memory and imagination in a series of psychic automatic drawings which I created after meditative sensory walks in the botanic garden during my residency. The process of creating the works is a meditation in which an expression of self is formed through symbols influenced by both visual and academic research of the natural world.
The colourful pieces use rust, ash, mud, ink and paint, thrown together where the materials react with one another to create the work. I relinquish control and allow the initial fabrication to be entirely natural, a reaction that mirrors the way materials and elements relate to each other in the natural world. I later return to the piece and draw into it see a greater narrative evolve within the work.