The creation of art is something which I have always approached on a personal level
and, as a result, my interests in art are continually changing with my interests in life. I try
to draw from inside myself and from my immediate surroundings for subjects and ideas
because it has been my experience that the best work comes from what is inside. My
artwork is, therefore, a reflection of myself at the time of it's making and my goal in
making it is for someone to experience at least part of what I felt while creating it.
My first major body of work, which I completed in the final year of my bachelor's
degree, consisted of large scale graphite drawings which combined the anatomy of
humans and birds in an effort to comfortably meld the two. This was attempted through
the removal of colour and the use of "motion" to blur the lines between feather and flesh.
These pieces were largely psychological and for the most part reflected my own indecision
about where my life was heading at the time. The creatures which I put down on paper, in
spite of their size and apparent strength, were stuck in a state of mid-transformation which
left them more than a little vulnerable to any potential danger.
In the floral series which I am currently developing, I am concerned with the potential
double meanings of imagery. The images I work with are recognizable as plants but I
attempt to abstract them to a point where the original subject can easily be mistaken for
something else, or at least be questioned by the viewer. In this way I am trying to work
with the idea that the identity of something is not based entirely upon what we think we
know about it. There can be things hidden within even the most ordinary of objects if one
takes the time to look for them.
