I like to use materials that are not caught up in a fine art context, that don’t subliminally lead the viewer through the whole history of art whilst viewing my work. I am therefore more at home on the bargain shelf of the hardware store, or the recycling bin than the art store for inspiration. My process starts with the properties of materials used to make, build, sustain or decorate at home, but have become surplus. I use their inherent colour, shape, surface and form to influence my making process, yet they also have inherent contradictions too. I’m interested in the way that materials destined to make partitions or decorate the home are made from temporary often-fragile materials, which through a series of manufacturing processes and applied surfaces give an impression of permanence and time. Increasingly I use processes that are about home or lifestyle improvement, such as refurbishing a room or decorating a cake, so that they become a layer of critical decoration or ornament in my work.

Seemingly abstract, my work is abstracted from real things, observations and processes. Increasingly about iteration, repeating a similar process or conditions to create new identities and relationships. In all my work there is a process of dividing cutting and placing together. Through this process I’m both breaking and making a visual language. Ultimately there is directness by using regular shapes and combination that hopefully point towards new identities and an underlying utilitarian abstract visual language.

Interview with Seth Benzel below talking about my process, abstraction and new book 'The Lockdown Collages'

Below is a short film of 'The Lockdown Collages' book, I have just published. If you wish to purchase a copy, contact me through direct messaging on instagram or through the email address in the contacts section.