Sleepwalkers
This work is a composite piece made up of many small paintings and it is an ongoing work. Taking the title from Arthur Koestler’s history of man's changing vision of the universe, I started painting Sleepwalkers in 2014. The series began as a way of dealing with the death of artist and friend, Graham Craig Smith, who lost his battle with the absurd and threw himself from a bridge. Small enough to be held in the palm of a hand, these ‘talismans’ are protectors for loved-ones. They are the rawest and most directly personal works I’ve made. They are always in my studio on the shelves and I add to their number as I feel the need to.
Many people who have visited my studio directly connect with them particularly those who have lost someone or are living with a family member struggling with their mental health. Mental illness is a growing issue in the twenty-first century, perhaps the price humanity is paying for the evolutionary path we have taken that leads away from our instinctual shared consciousness toward individualism. This work is a reminder of what is at stake. As their number increases the singular journey becomes a collective one, which we all might share. These small paintings can be picked up in the hand, the act of touching is a sharing experience with the aim of connecting to others. The small paintings can be presented as a shoal directly pinned to a wall, a single line propped on a small wooden shelf or displayed on a purpose-made wall shelf as pictured.
Installation piece composed of multiple small panels. Variable size. Work in progress.
Carbon, earth pigments, granite and ground rocks with oil on plywood boards
