Artist Statement

My work shows concern with temporality and topography of the earth’s surface. My practice deals with materiality, scale and physical process. My artworks are often constructed using natural materials and found objects which when transformed into sculptural forms are often ephemeral. The liminal space just above and just below the surface inspires me. The ordinary and often unnoticed surfaces under our feet are a continuing source of material. As my work uses organic materials there is a relinquishing of control over the end result. The physical processes involved demonstrate where the point of control on the surface is between me and the hidden. After the initial decision of what material and which location the material is left for the space and nature to sculpt. Influenced by the Anti Form sculptors I work from the principles that form should be derived from the inherent qualities of the materials I choose.

The layering of process and reconfiguration creates a dialogue around my visual exploration of the earth’s surface. I am interested in cracks and voids in the ground and the absent space they create.  By using materials that capture the negative spaces and are then re- interpreted by representation in new forms I am making form out of space. By pouring materials into the ground and then digging the solidified results out I am using the physical action to connect with nature through making. Once poured, I walk away and leave the material alone to move, slide and fix itself into the void it fills, capturing the shape and relaying the information of the surface it touches. Weight and mass, gravity, wetness and dryness explore the point of balance in the material. Making the invisible visible.  The bodily endeavour exposes and reveals much like a farmer toiling in his fields preparing the soil.

Binary themes result – the positive and negative, the inside and outside create an objective reality. There is a parallel between my work and Photography as both try to reveal and capture a moment in time.

I am influenced in particular by the Land Artists using walking and organic material to make artworks.  Richard Long, Tim Knowles, Marlene Creates and  David Nash. I make things that are fragile and on the edge of material presence as does Anya Gallacio. Her use of organic materials that are left to compost and decay relate to my land art piece Apple Path, where thousands of apples were gathered and positioned in a linear form in a field. Entropy is evident in my work – my initial control of the site, source and material is ordered and then left for the elements to control. Nature and animals sculpt it. The narrative around this piece is personal and connected to local folklore, highlighting a history of presence of this exact site.