About the Work
Since late 2019, work in the studio has been made by extruding silicone using a simple DIY sealant gun. Silicone is squeezed, squashed and drawn with, negotiating process and material-led outcomes in a dialogue between with intuition and control, the tool-machine and the artist's hand.
An essentially sculptural practice, expressed as freestanding and table-top works or micro-installations, beginning to also inch further into the territories of wall-based drawing and painting; hand-extruded silicone sealant being eyed as a potential 'uber-medium'.
Works make reference to the histories of art, aspects of representation, the conventions of display and the nature of public engagement. Others also reflecting contemporary society, personal concerns and the experiences of living and working as an artist today.
The early work 'Vessel (I)', 2020 explores a way of making solid form building massed coils to form the bowl and its innards. Developed more recently to the variant 'Rubberware' (2024) where vessels reference both the ceremonial vessel and the Tupperware party.
'After (Party)', 2022 brings the possibility of a performative and (literally) socially engaging aspect to the work: created live at social events where attendees are invited to put their drinks down on the artwork - on purpose.
Putting 'B00bs', (2024) out on display after badly imitating both the potters wheel and 3D printing, extends the body-based explorations of wall-based 'Nice Pairs'.
Various iterations of 'Edge Drops' 2020-23, cured unattached, explore modes of display and present handle-able works as domestic mini-installations.
Whilst series such as 'Dark Materials' (2023) test out possibilities for approaching the genres of painting, using the silicone adhesive brand 'Fixall' on velvet. In a related manner, the series 'The Smoothing' (2023) explores using silicone sealant on canvas, with looped beads laid and half smeared flat to a painterly-ish coating with a second, smaller canvas.