BA (Hons) Painting
My work involves conceptual systems that highlight an uncertain relationship between humanity and the natural world. Extracting knowledge from diverse fields such as psychology, architecture, marine biology and geology, I re-examine a Romantic sensibility through diverse forms of media, from architectural interventions to performing objects, distilling this now historical, rhetorical and commodified relationship between Man and his environment for emotional potency in a contemporary context. I want to scrutinise how the natural world can still function as a site of projection, metaphorically. Water is physically and conceptually fluid, simultaneously encapsulating the sentiments of the Romantics, yet also gaining new socio-political charge in a contemporary context with regards to climate change, for example. The Romantic artist looked to the natural environment for spiritual enlightenment and transcendence, whereas I look to it as something poetically connected to everyday life.I am interested in the notion of a post-conceptual practice, taking the rigour of conceptual art of the 60s and 70s, but remaining critical of this work's aims to be intellectually transcendent. I am also reluctant to contextualise myself exclusively within an art context, as I believe this work is at its most interesting when self-consciously situated in conjunction with other fields of knowledge. Most importantly, I aim to create an intimate space where forces, situations and objects are able to 'speak for themselves' and quietly appeal to an audience.