Blog

• A Work in Progress

  8 years ago

  Continuing with my ongoing work interrogating themes of identity, time and place as observed through markings on walls, I have added a new layer to this painting inspired by 'Impasse 453', a street in the Gemmayzeh district of Beirut.

  In 2015, I started with a very free sketch in charcoal and dry acrylic on a new piece of stretched canvas measuring 75 x 115 cm:

  

  
  

  
  

  In 2016 I worked over this in acrylic with a graphic representation of a section of the wall

  

  
  

  In 2017 abstracted forms have been layered over the work in thick and thin washes of oil paint

  

  
  

  installation view
  

  

  
  

  The history of the underpainting is preserved
  

  

        
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

• Gemmazeh

  8 years ago

  
  

  Gemmazeh I

  acrylic and charcoal on canvas

  2000 x 1400 mm

  The Gemmazeh series arose from a recent visit to Beirut.

  In the context of the recent #YouStink peaceful protests there, one resident critic commented: ' the yellow and red of the traditional Lebanese house contrasting with the greys of the concrete jungle work wonderfully as a metaphor for the conflict between the cultural conservationists and the hard-boiled capitalists; the war legacy and the subsequent identity crisis; and so on. With the hints of calligraphy, which aren't too overt, there is something unmistakably 'Beiruti' about it'.
  
  

• Recurring Marks

  8 years ago

  My ongoing body of work interrogates themes of identity, time and place as observed through markings on walls. Disparate components have been brought  together to compose a personal commentary imbued with meditative thoughts. Playful juxtaposition of ideas, impulsive connections and incidental markings form an integral part. Over an extended period of time these works will combine to form a journal of my lasting impressions of places wherein I hold an emotional investment.

  
  

  Pintada Verde 2014

  oil and aerosol spray on canvas

  1800 x 930 mm

  Pintada Verde was inspired by graffiti seen in the Canary Islands in relation to the Otro Mundo es Posible Independence campaign. After many months of layering up and paring back the surface of the work, the underlying detail is randomly concealed or exposed, to create dialogue between the timeless and the temporal.

  Through further research into the origins of the graffiti I found myself delving into the aboriginal beginnings in the Canary Islands and made some significant discoveries. The original inhabitants of the islands were Guanches, who are thought to come from the Berber tribe in North Africa. This tribe were reputed to be very tall, with blond hair and blue eyes, a description which also fits the Grooved Ware folk from Orkney who I believe could be one and the same. The graffiti that I spent much time photographing around the island turned out to be a Guanche motif.

  I find it fascinating that in times of civil and political unrest in the Canary Islands, the people look inwards towards their Guanche heritage. These ancient and fundamental origins that the indigenous population have been at great pains to conceal since medieval times are now emerging again in their expression of discontent at the contemporary economic and political  climate in 21st century Spain.