welcome

I am a full-time artist working in Ruby Bay, New Zealand. My style has evolved from landscapes to contemporary expressions of the urban experience. I hold a Master of Fine Arts Degree from Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design in Auckland.

I paint because I love it. My rewards are the quiet, intense moments, the unexpected things that happen on the canvas and the chance to discuss with the public and other artists differing views of the urban environment. My art has changed dramatically in the last few years and reflects an obsession with the busy, transitional spaces explored through urban wandering. My objective is to provoke people to stop and think about how we are living, in cities and in our transient relationships. I am currently represented by galleries in New Zealand and my works are in held in private collections in New Zealand and overseas.

My art practice is based on the concepts of the non-place, psychogeography and translation.

the non-place

The non-place, as defined by French theorist Marc Augé, is a generic, anonymous and transitory space that has prolierated due to globalisation. Travelling is the mode of the non-place and wanderers like me spend more time transitioning through spaces rather than inhabiting specific places. These liminal spaces such as airports, subways and streets, offer unexpected events, encourage change and restrain significant connections between users. The non-place can either be an exciting or alienating experience depending on the users subjectivity.

In my practice I explore the tension between the chaos of the crowd and the quiet of the individual in the non-place. The empty, private in-between spaces are highlighted; along with the unknown, the freedom and anonymity that the city and the canvas offer.

psychogeography

Psychogeography is a science based movement that explores urban space and human expression through walking.  I collect my source material by wandering non-places as a means to experience and understand the complexities of the global city. Wandering these spaces is the best method I know to obtain a raw sensation of the space – positioning me in the flow of the crowd, and amongst the sights and sounds of the city. I also use this reflective time to consider how I will translate my experiences back in the studio.

translation

The act of translation is a key process in my studio. This methodology opens up the opportunity for chance happenings to occur and offers a refreshing freedom to experiment with paint without the constraints of intention impinging on creativity.

My works evolve over time; during the making my paintings are in a constant transitional state. They shift and change day by day as layers of paint are formed, obliterated and reformed. Each layer of paint becomes another translation of the image, moving the work further and further away from the original source material.

The creative sense of freedom which I experience in the studio reflects the dynamics between the chaos and the quiet, the individual and the crowd – as sensed in the city.
“I hope you will view my online galleries, read my blog and share my journey as an urban wanderer and painter”