Artist Statement
I was born in 1958. For me, art explores the interface between the conscious and subconscious mind. It can be representational or abstract – or both at once. Art can be practical (decorative arts) or explorative or expressive. It shares with science an interpretation of the world.
My Scarecrow images come from a period of anxiety and indecision in my early life. They have a darkness that I no longer entertain. However I can relate to the power and energy they contain. That energy is still active in me, although I now have multiple sclerosis, which tries to inhibit its expression.
Like the sea, the subconscious is both deep and energetic. It shapes more that I can imagine. It shapes mother earth.
As with many children, I loved to touch and look at the shapes and textures of objects on the seashore. Birth, energy and decay are strong elements of the shoreline. All these elements are present in the holy stones. The stones precipitated out of the sea initially, forming limestone sea-beds and later mountains and later still stones and pebbles on the beach. That is where I met the stones – returning to the sea – and threaded them. I followed elements of the stones to create the work; stone size, shape and the position of the naturally formed holes.
The exhibition is important because it allows me to see that both my own creative need and that of other artists’ is not suppressed by illness.
My Scarecrow images come from a period of anxiety and indecision in my early life. They have a darkness that I no longer entertain. However I can relate to the power and energy they contain. That energy is still active in me, although I now have multiple sclerosis, which tries to inhibit its expression.
Like the sea, the subconscious is both deep and energetic. It shapes more that I can imagine. It shapes mother earth.
As with many children, I loved to touch and look at the shapes and textures of objects on the seashore. Birth, energy and decay are strong elements of the shoreline. All these elements are present in the holy stones. The stones precipitated out of the sea initially, forming limestone sea-beds and later mountains and later still stones and pebbles on the beach. That is where I met the stones – returning to the sea – and threaded them. I followed elements of the stones to create the work; stone size, shape and the position of the naturally formed holes.
The exhibition is important because it allows me to see that both my own creative need and that of other artists’ is not suppressed by illness.