Blog
"In Conversation" with Myself
Studio installation from 'The Mob of Hordes'
Acrylic and oil paint, wood
11/09/2020
What do you intend your work to convey to an audience?
I have a hope that when someone sees my work they will feel the energy of different interests clashing and jostling in a dance together, a sense of rude life and fun.
Why do you work in your chosen medium?
I began my practising life hoping to be a painter, but initially I couldn't find my way into working with flat geometric canvases, so I began making sculpture. It was easier to invent 3D forms, but there was an inflexibility too, the difficulty of construction. I somehow couldn't make things that were robust, but the idea of making temporary objects from cloth or paper - though it would have been easier to do, it didn't seem that I'd be putting a real whole new object out into the world. I recommenced painting, but always there was the problem of the geometry, the background, the rationale of the arbitrary shape of the board. Why I suddenly thought of cutting out the paintings I can't recall, but it immediately made sense, and I found I could 'think' in this way.
Technically speaking, how do you go about constructing your work? that is, the image or the object itself? What devices do you employ?
I sketch in one of my innumerable sketch-books, then transfer the drawing onto board in my studio. Sometimes I use a photo or painting o bounce ideas from, and bormally I have an artwork in my head - currently Franz west, and caulfield for his Cubist sense of space.
Which periods/artists/specific works of art are you influenced by, and how directly? How does this manifest itself in your work?
The Padshanama Mughal miniatures, Cubism, Victorian religious furniture, optics, instruments and furniture
What stimulates / informs your work from the world around you?
Absurdity
What stimulates / informs your work from your own personal experience?
Currently, my love of India
From where do you derive your other visual source material (ie: non-art-historical), and how do you implement this material within the work?
My imagination, design, textiles
What are the main problems you face when making your work?
Cowardice and lethargy. Too cautious about trying different techniques, and too slow to ditch poor work.
Where do you intend to take your work from here?
Back into 3D, with papier mache, cardboard, cloth, plaster, and make work that can go outside. Wearable sculpture too, and working with dancers.
I have a hope that when someone sees my work they will feel the energy of different interests clashing and jostling in a dance together, a sense of rude life and fun.
Why do you work in your chosen medium?
I began my practising life hoping to be a painter, but initially I couldn't find my way into working with flat geometric canvases, so I began making sculpture. It was easier to invent 3D forms, but there was an inflexibility too, the difficulty of construction. I somehow couldn't make things that were robust, but the idea of making temporary objects from cloth or paper - though it would have been easier to do, it didn't seem that I'd be putting a real whole new object out into the world. I recommenced painting, but always there was the problem of the geometry, the background, the rationale of the arbitrary shape of the board. Why I suddenly thought of cutting out the paintings I can't recall, but it immediately made sense, and I found I could 'think' in this way.
Technically speaking, how do you go about constructing your work? that is, the image or the object itself? What devices do you employ?
I sketch in one of my innumerable sketch-books, then transfer the drawing onto board in my studio. Sometimes I use a photo or painting o bounce ideas from, and bormally I have an artwork in my head - currently Franz west, and caulfield for his Cubist sense of space.
Which periods/artists/specific works of art are you influenced by, and how directly? How does this manifest itself in your work?
The Padshanama Mughal miniatures, Cubism, Victorian religious furniture, optics, instruments and furniture
What stimulates / informs your work from the world around you?
Absurdity
What stimulates / informs your work from your own personal experience?
Currently, my love of India
From where do you derive your other visual source material (ie: non-art-historical), and how do you implement this material within the work?
My imagination, design, textiles
What are the main problems you face when making your work?
Cowardice and lethargy. Too cautious about trying different techniques, and too slow to ditch poor work.
Where do you intend to take your work from here?
Back into 3D, with papier mache, cardboard, cloth, plaster, and make work that can go outside. Wearable sculpture too, and working with dancers.
