ARTIST STATEMENT

 

My work has been an evolutionary process towards sculpture originating with the use of mixed media to overridingly express my interests and concerns, potently related to the human form, condition and experience.

 

Venturing into the use of mixed media fostered environmental and ecological interests and afforded pregnant validity for constructions made from things washed up by the tide, found objects, and materials that would normally be thrown away.  Further experimentation incorporated the use of more natural materials such as plants, wood, paper, string and wire and my preference towards using them enabled the production of artworks with greater physicality that more naturally became three dimensional.   This creational 'hands-on' approach becomes a repetitive, process with meditative fluidity that, particularly when employing materials like string or paper, engenders an artistic 'flow' within which the work appears to lead me to the next intuitive step.

Recently in my studio practice I began using the traditional sculptural materials of clay, plaster of Paris, wax and latex.  I have negotiated the skills of bust making, casting and making of moulds, which have provided the opportunity to therefore construct replica busts with plaster, wax and latex.  My materials are inherently linked with my current focus of the human body as they are textural, sensory and malleable, just as the human body is.

 

As a mature artist, I am interested in the subject of human mortality and the consequent suffering, pain and struggles we experience in our lives.  My studio practice, while focussed on three dimensional corporeality, further explores the subject of abjection which is a concept that was coined by Julia Kristeva (philosopher and critic) in her book The Powers of Horror and relates to the things that disturb us about our body; the malformations, scars, odours, emissions and normal but sociably unacceptable facets of bodily functions.

The artists who have inspired me are Millais, Holman Hunt, Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, Nancy Spero, Louise Bourgeoise, Bill Viola, Jenny Saville and Paloma Varga Weiss, among others.   When I sculpt figures they present as largely asexual, possessing a male appearing body but with a non-specificity in their genital appearance.  When I create I am fulfilling my own criteria, largely trying to portray not just a physical body but a body having a particular experience. Considering my motives in this regard I am interested in discovering a greater knowledge and understand of human dimorphism and expressing this in my work.

 

I work on projects which are meaningful to me and it is not a prime criteria for me to expect that the viewers’ interpretation is parallel to my intention.  Above all I do hope to translate a meaningful message and experience with my work. I also feel that artists (myself included) have a moral responsibility to make a contribution to the world today and to posterity. In this vein, although my work may be of images that can be seen as ugly or unpleasant, I believe that they do express face to face cold realities of life, no holds barred, which are things we all need to accept and come to terms with to appreciate the preciousness of life and how all things have their place and relevance.