In my paintings, gummy, jungle-like vines stretch across and dribble down the
page, biomorphic shapes press and squeeze against each other. Sinuous forms
glisten and pulsate, liquid filling and leaking. In other works, trickster-like beings
teeter between something human and non-human, or rather they evade such
distinctions. These hybrid bodies suggest an eerie intimacy with nature, advocating
for the dissolution of the hierarchical attitudes towards species. The strangeness,
horror, tenderness and laughter of ecological awareness is outlined, that we are
inextricably enmeshed with and permeated by our environment.
I counter the traditional notions and grandeur of painting on canvas by using paper
and the technique of mono-printing. In this method of printmaking, where paint
brushes are rarely used, ink and oil are rolled onto a metal plate and swiftly wiped
away with my hands, rags and cotton buds. This method of subtracting from a fully
painted, smooth surface reverses the somewhat daunting notions of a white canvas
and enables me to work quickly and fluidly. When pressed, the paint sits within the
paper, and so the viewer witnesses the material dribbling, slipping and seeping
whilst being denied its tactile quality. The horror of material, rather illusively, is
never truly encountered as it is sandwiched between surfaces like a microscopic
slide. The tension of this visual trickery is what makes working on paper an integral
part of my painting practice.
These works are a direct response to my use of ‘moist media’ in sculpture. I am entranced by the sensory and transformative qualities of viscous
substances, in particular boiled sugar, which constantly changes, evolves and resists
control. The intelligence of the animated material world and its dense network of
relations is advocated in contemporary material studies theories, which forms my
research. Through the process of ‘sugar pulling’, boiled sugar is stretched, twisted,
pulled and sculpted into shape. The interchangeable shapes - that shift from
imitating intestinal matter to deep sea creatures, skin textures to slug-like formations - become an emblem for a hybrid model of thinking. The organic sculptures are
immersed in vegetable oil - which slows down the melting process - and contained in
vitrines, mimicking an anatomical display. The work combines the interdisciplinary
fields of the life sciences with art, engaging the viewer in key discussions
surrounding the matter of which our body is made of and its relationship to non-human life. Acknowledging the micro-organisms we carry inside of us exist in other bodies of life on earth emphasises our mutual interdependence, which begs the question; If the non-human exists in the human, can we really be so separated from nature? This is a vital way of thinking in order to tackle the contemporary climate and health challenges we face today.