Mirror Image
Secrets in the shadows; watercolour; 50 x 42.5cm
Gallery Q- 17th September-15th October 2011
Although a mirror is supposed to reflect truth, it also changes that which we look at. Similarly an artist who reflects on the world around him must also change and interpret his version of truth.
I value time and the way it affects everything. It reveals character within all that it touches. The worn beauty which is slowly coaxed out of peeling paint, rotten wood, rusted implements or wind torn rock appeals to me. I want to record them, but I also want to do so with emotion. I want to say something about my subject matter and as such embellish, change, modify, emphasise and sublimate in order to get my message across.
It is my interpretation of the subject and therefore like the mirror I may reflect upon that subject but at the same time I’m compelled to change it.
Cuba
This exhibition draws upon my experiences from a resource laden trip to Cuba. The neglect brought about by Political isolation creates an endless supply of superb source material for me. Havana is a living city, one which has not been cared for due to a lack of resources and finances. Never the less, she shows all the signs an aging beauty. Growing and expanding, but dowdy and still immensely proud, I found Havana foreboding at times but also friendly. Full of contradictions and packed full of source material, I found I was slightly overwhelmed at first, but once you start drawing, your focus returns and the important stuff comes into view.
Doors, gates, walls, pillars, signs and the interaction of Havana’s residents with the city became my focal point. Building on my past experiences from other trips I draw, draw, paint, photograph take notes and draw again, constructing a bank of knowledge which sustains me in the studio until my next expedition.
I will be back.
