Artists Statement

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My paintings depict intimate moments of connection between the non-human and human. In my current body of work these occur within the primeval rain soaked forests of Dartmoor. Dripping in lichen and adorned with verdant moss, these environments provide, both on and off the canvas, ‘a place of indifference’, where things are going about their business regardless of human presence. On canvas, the human figure often acts as a substrate upon which the ‘action’ occurs; patchy moss colonises sturdy legs as if they were ancient boulders, a slug slips over, or perhaps hitchhikes, a foot. Alive and vibrant but not necessarily on human timescales. The images also speak to what eco-philosopher Timothy Morton calls ‘hospitality to strangers’ - the appreciation of often overlooked or abject lifeforms.

Touch is important to me and depersonalised hands and feet are chosen as sites of high sensitivity or groundedness. This reflects both the phenomenological belief that all things, including humans, access and attune to the world via the senses; and the importance of being present in the moment as we come out of our heads and into our bodies. The influence of folk tales and legends that haunt such woodlands adds to an undercurrent of not-knowing and a recognition that while we can attune to other beings, we can never fully know their worlds.

Thin, drippy washes echo the moisture soaked setting and allow me to relinquish an element of control. The painting then builds up as a conversation and negotiation between myself, the idea and the materials as I attempt to mirror the tactile qualities of the entities depicted with the sensuous qualities of oil paint.