Initially inspired by Heidegger’s text ‘The Origin of the Work of Art’ and Agamben’s  ‘On Potentiality’, my continuing series of paintings explores the birth of a painting, as coming out of a struggle within its ‘Being’, that reveals and conceals itself simultaneously. I work within the tradition of vessels, objects and still life in order to realise this.

‘Potential’ can conserve some of its energy, even when it is realised in actuality. By withholding some of the information I present to the viewer, the jugs for example, hold on to some ‘potential’ even when their form is depicted on the canvas. The visual utterance of the jug necessitates that some sense of the jug must be departed from in the very act of saying ‘jug’ within the image. ‘Being’ constitutes a ‘saying’ of the object in the world. The drawn outline suggests a recognition of the object, as a sign or motif, whilst colour usage brings us closer to experiencing the ‘gap’ created between the world or object, and the language we use to describe this world or object that is uttered on the canvas. It creates an interesting visual juxtaposition with that which I recognise, and outline, after the initial painted ‘saying’.