each as I am, 2011 –  terracotta

This work comprises a group of hollow, fired ceramic objects, scarred by the strain of their creation through gravity and impact. Their ‘flesh’ sags under their mass and cleaves where it is torn. In making these works my thoughts were of the material and the resulting forms, textures and dynamic potential. It was only after several of pieces had been completed that I began to see parallels between them and works by Jean Arp and Lucio Fontana (in terms of the issues they explore and the questions their work raises).

no more than me, 2011 – terracotta, 8ft x 4 ft plywood sheet, trestles

A group of solid, fired ceramic forms placed on a plywood table. These unique terracotta objects occupy a calm, understated space; shown alongside the works on paper (collectively titled as was then is now), my intention is that the viewer will become aware of the nuances and subtleties of the pieces on display. While the work is different in character (and means of presentation) to the ongoing project entitled me, they hopefully inform the way in which this project is read. This piece has in certain ways been informed by Gabriel Orozco’s work My Hands are my Heart (1991) and Alan McCollum’s Individual Works (1982).

me, 2011 – terracotta, acrylic spray-paint

Fired terracotta objects (made by a similar process to those in no more than me) have been painted and distributed into the wider environment- the shared internal spaces of the college, and the world outside. This is an on-going project through which I am seeking to explore notions of the ‘self’ and ‘place’ through the making of a distributed artwork. The works of Felix Gonzalez-Torres have been instrumental in informing my understanding of how these pieces operate.

as was then is now, 2011 – Indian ink and biro on paper

Placed on the walls of the room where no more than me is positioned, this selection of drawings (first made with ink, and then worked into with brush and biro pen) lends focus to the environment. The aim here is for the viewer to inspect the work at close quarters and be drawn into the marks and the way that their pigment moves through the paper. Influences here range from Kuniyoshi and Max Ernst, to Vija Celmins and Hiroyuki Doi.

dream, 2011 – terracotta

On the floor of the room above the drawing studio (up the spiral stairs) lies dream, a piece whose fragility and precariousness are essential to its beauty.