"The purest and most thoughtful minds are those which love colour the most"
John Rushkin
I am seduced by colour, particularly
when it is at the most vibrant end of the spectrum. I am fascinated by how
people can be emotionally drawn to a colour and how the language of
colour is evocative. My main themes are pure colour through light. A multitude
of colour theories and the possibility/impossibility of an existentialist
experience with colour. the emotional and cerebral experience of colour.
Unnameable colours.
How did you develop the idea that produced your final exhibition work?
The ideas for my final piece came
about via a number of different factors all coming together. Through rigorous
and persistent experimentation with lights and marbles I kept creating colour
spaces with lots of testing and multiple works, but none of them quite evoked
the same personal and physical response of the first piece I created. I
realised that simplification and purity where important in the work, and
through a group critique session discussed this and this helped to hone the
work and I decided to use the first piece of work and resolve it. What was
actually most important was the perfection of the space and the experience of
being there with the work, not creating something elaborate. My biggest
issues were being able to make the exhibiting space as perfect as I needed
it. The interaction of the works with the
spectator and the immediate architecture and material surfaces also became very
important and something I explored and changed until it was just right.
Which sources have fed into the
development of your work?
I have been very strongly influenced
by the colour theories of Newton and Goethe and the dissonance between them.
The letters written by the Modernist Colourfield artists and their approach to
existentialism has intrigued me greatly too, as has the fine line between
existentialism and phenomenology. Although I am drawn to and visually seduced
by the vibrancy of colour, it has been the theoretical writings and images they
can conjure in the minds eye that has had the greatest influence on my practice.
What do you think is the most significant thing that has helped you during your time a UCA Farnham?
Without question the time spent
discussing work with peers and tutors. Being present at Farnham in the studio,
and just working in the studio space leads to so many ad hoc conversations and
incidental remarks that can have the greatest impact on the development of
work.
What did you learn from the process of producing your Farnham exhibition?
Adaptability! The need to know when
to be flexible and when to be determined. To have tested and tested and tested
all that you can prior to install and that no matter how meticulous your
planning, things happen that derail your plans, but knowing the end goal and
knowing that everything else is planned means unforeseen issues can be met head
on.
What are you planning next?
I already have three commissions
straight from finishing. In fact the first started during assessment. I am also
applying for open submissions and planning for September. I'm looking into further study at postgraduate level and education.
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