ARTIST STATEMENT
My recent work responds to my time in sub-zero temperatures in Iceland. Working in graphite, charcoal, and inks without gloves at -20 degrees forced me to distil my marks while retaining my emotional reaction. I also used found materials like sand, basalt, and snow on raw canvas to create temporary performance paintings that inspired further studio work.
There is a strange juxtaposition when compelled to work quickly in an environment that is slow and silent. The cold slows everything; snow falls slowly, waterfalls stutter, and icebergs halt, contrasting the human instinct to quicken.
I love the physicality of oil paint. I apply layers, using gravity and the paint's natural behaviour to build up the surface until the painting teeters on destruction, and then I excavate. This push and pull, allowing some elements to survive while destroying others, creates depth and balance. I use a limited palette with variations of white and repeat dotted marks to create rhythm. The creation's archaeology is always present. I seek balance within each painting, integral to Taoist philosophy, reducing surfaces to their purest forms.
Standing at the foot of frozen waterfalls, glaciers with ancient air bubbles, and vast white snow planes on the Sandur, with no humanity in sight, was like stepping into the intangible. This new work presents my response to Iceland's extreme conditions, subtle colours, winter light, and dark skies.
As an artist, I continually explore the connection between the inner and outer landscape. Each painting is part of a continuum rooted in nature and the sublime.
