Wish you were here

Series of graphic works on paper, varied sizes

These works were inspired by a tree near my childhood home. When I was young my Grandmother produced a number of paintings of this tree, and now it always reminds me of her. The fact that it is still there makes me feel that she is too.

I think of these drawings as a way to honour my Grandmother. While drawing them I imagined what attracted her to this particular tree and what she felt while she was painting. Each of my drawings is from a different side of the tree and so a different facet of the same experience. It’s interesting that different people can experience the same activity but end up with very different results.

See more here

Inside

Medium: Screenprint on Awagami paper, 1130 x 550cm

My recent work has been based on a gum tree near my childhood home. While drawing the many images, I became interested in the repetitive mark marking of my own hand, especially the miniscule lines and scrapings that are often overlooked.

As drawing is presupposed to be invented or imagined, I began to wonder if these unknown, or partially known, stray marks, had a “meaning” within themselves. If by just following my own hand I would allow this single line to discover its own logic.

And to ask is it still a tree?

The Preoccupants series

 Medium: Screenprint on Awagami paper, 30 x 30cm

When we look at a form we only see the end result, or the completed structure, yet there are many other little things that are necessary in the creation of that form that are beyond our perception. Certainly, when viewing something as astonishingly complex as a tree, the individual cells included in its make up are incomprehensible.

Similarly, when we view a drawing, we don't perceive many of the smallest marks. Of course, as the artist I see all of these, every tiny detail, all the while understanding that the majority of these little components will be overlooked, or even invisible, to the viewer when it's completed.

The more I studied the tree, the more I realised the importance of these details and began exploring the inherently abstract qualities, textures and patterns I discovered. By allowing my mind, and my hand, to wander/wonder, along this path, I saw the impossibility of representing it with any validity. And I became interested in the questions, or mystery, I was unwrapping. It made me realise that no one part is more important than any other and that maybe the true beauty of a tree is just the sheer wonder of it.