Alter/Altar - Dilston Gallery, Southwark Park Galleries, London

28 - 29 January 2023

In this piece, I explored connection to landscape and place. I used the trees of Southwark park, which I know very well having lived nearby, as inspiration for my work. I wanted to get across the vastness but at the same time intimacy of nature. ‘Nature’ being something that we are a part of. How the seed is as much as part of the tree as we are a part of the tree - just at different points in the cycle of life.
Using unprimed canvas, I like the thought of the surface breaking down and rotting in the future, the materials continuing in their cycle. It also allows paint to move through to the other side of the linen, giving an impression and shadow.
The ceramics were made in a variety of ways: coiling, pinching and thrown, exploring how to create earthly textures in the clay.

Tree painting: 650 x 80cm, oil on unprimed linen, wood, thread, rope
Ceramic seed pods: various 10-15 x 10-15cm, black and buff stoneware, manganese dioxide, glaze