SALA 2019 6 to 31 August 2019
Texture when applied to visual art can be actual, simulated, abstract or invented. My work uses texture to evoke a visual “feel” in the observer. I would go further than that. There is texture in every aspect of our visual life and it is in the every day. It could be the patterns of the clouds, the brightness of the Sun or straining to see if there really is a Man in the Moon. I have for a long time been fascinated by the sociological determinants of our world, but I am also drawn to whimsy and history be it personal or public. It is probably a rare universality for every artist, that there must be enough desire to carry an idea of a work through from its inception, to it’s completion. The work I have for you to see is based on animals in our world. They are caught in the wrong place from seasonal or geographical perspectives due to our changing climate affecting the habitats of all species. A number of works are animals drawn for the sake of their beauty, looking cute in their own frames. To underline the use of texture, many works have been painted on a different surface texture be it rough cold pressed watercolour paper, wood, raffia, sea grass, embossed paper or wallpaper. I have also included pieces that include texture applied on top of the work such as the Black Cockatoo. Alternatively texture has been applied to a smooth surface in the form of patterns. The work also draws my attention to the life changing effects of waste plastic on our animal world and the beauty they display despite this intrusion - this is right in your face, not easy to see and not easy to forget.