Exhibition Preparation (Sep 2011)

"The secret soul of things"- Jean  Arp
 

This Ship's Cargo, work in progress, mixed media

This Ship's Cargo: A heap of small boxes made up of etchings and screenprints. Subtle words and images hinting at the memories and thoughts they symbolise. The weight a person carries around or the meanings a person attaches to objects that are stored away for safe keeping.



Message in a Box (series), etchings and mixed media, 21x14cm each



 

Studio shot



As an archaeologist I have always been interested in the role of archaeology and history in building an image of the past and how that effects the present. When we discover something that once belonged to somebody else, even something mundane, we use it to tell us something about that society as a whole.  As an artist I am more concerned with the individual.

I use words, combined with found objects and images of tents, boxes, books and other material things to connect to thoughts and emotions in the past.  These ideas demonstrate the role of the archaeologist who tries to grasp the human meanings that were held to artefacts, searching for traces of the human mind in the archaeological record.  Unlike the archaeologist, however, my work is concerned more with the emotion than the fact. 

The Lantern, tar gel etching, 32x10x10cm