Artist statement
For years, my artistic investigations have navigated the aestheticisation of absence and loss, nostalgia and regret. Most recently, after an encounter in Italy with a collection of 18th Century reverse glass paintings, I determined the glass would be an ideal conduit for the communication of these themes. The interruptions, the lacunae within the painted surfaces demand the viewer’s contemplation in a manner usually reserved for positive space; however, it is only by the fractured framework the paint provides that a viewer might accept the virgin glass as lacunary.
The challenge of painting in reverse and on a surface like glass has been truly stimulating—an impetus to consider possibilities beyond the boundaries of traditional painting surfaces.
The inclusion of steel was a pivotal moment in the development of this current body; its rawness, severity and weight proved capable in the role of Atlas to support the autobiographical pith contained within the works. The interplay of paint, glass and steel welcomed a fractal of other manifestations, including the incorporation of video, music and complex installation.