My paintings are inspired by the images I collect from glossy magazines, lifestyle and fashion magazines and smart interior magazines too. These images represent our consumer driven society. I love the English conversation pieces by William Hogarth, Thomas Rowlandson and Gainsborough and I use the comedic Britishness at the root of their works as a starting point for my own work.
As I paint, I re-arrange the collected images to create a new narrative which signifies something other than their original source. The narrative which emerges is meaningless as the painted collage is just images re-organised to make a new un-signifiable identity.The final painting appears to fall somewhere between apocalypse and carnival.
People generally have a need, when viewing work, to create a narrative which makes sense. However, truths are observed and felt differently and perspectives harden into fixed narratives. The stories people tell themselves are usually warped and distorted by private agendas. I like to use this desire for meaning to draw the viewer towards a place where meaning collapses. Well, that is my intention anyway! Creating something which challenges what we believe to be true.
