2022 Motifs & Themes
Nature
Gardening has become so important to a lot of us over the last couple of years, and it has really illustrated how valuable a connection with nature is for our mental health.
The figures in my recent work are something I often refer to as ‘Mother Nature’ figures (despite them mostly being male) but they are really representations of us as a human collective and how we can all find peace in nature. This innate need for nature is represented in the physical connection between the figure and the floral motif.
Constraints & Boundaries
In these pieces the paper itself acts as a box, forcing the artwork to become distorted and conform to the physical boundaries of the canvas in order to fit. This is representative of social constructs and how we either find ourselves altering parts of our personalities to feel accepted, or how the idea of who we are is often misinterpreted by others.
The organic curves at the base of the necks were formed from several influences including vintage collars & ruffs, but most prominently from organic shapes borrowed from nature such as seaweed and coral (à la Henri Matisse) linking it back to the theme of Nature.
Birds
This is the most personal of the motifs as I have a fear of birds and have been using art as a form of therapy in the hopes of rectifying and exploring this.