In a time where our relationship with the natural land is ever decreasing, references to Romanticism must change with the present codes, practices and influences found in heavily humanised environments.
This ‘distance’ away from a nostalgic natural past into domesticated, plastic, sub-urban and supermarket-ridden environments forms the crux of my investigation into contemporary landscape. I often walk alone in cities and forests by following my nose, where the act of discovery is usually more vital than what is discovered. I also love the big and best views, enjoying them along with all the other tourists.
I don’t know which of these I prefer. Is it the individual and private journey or the one that is shared and mapped out for us - appreciated by many and conserved for the next group with their maps in hand? My work uses a range of media which I guess is as much born out of my training in Printmaking over the years as is my agitation in sticking to one playing field. I use photography, screen-print and painting to internalise views from shared spaces and use repetitively drawn signs and symbols to build up new maps and images. It is a growing obsession. I hope the pains in my drawing arm won’t turn me into a Chuck Close in later life.
Using photography to merge background landscapes with foreground surfaces, I imbue everyday and public scenes with a sense of Romanticism and contemplation. The use of screen-printing transforms some images onto a pigment surface and merges the reproduction with directly drawn and painted marks.
The digital work again uses photography as its starting point. A recent series of photomontages present a selection of my own photographs taken from around the world over the past 10 years. Some present a humorous juxtaposition of unlikely elements and others elevate ordinary scenes using heavenly skies. These half believable scenes show an interest in the co-existing of contradictions particularly in the spaces between human and natural life, and present a set of surreal landscapes.
