I use drawing as a very accessible, flexible and direct way of making artwork.
In theory you can use a burnt stick or other basic item to create marks; I tend to use black oil pastels of various colours and sizes as they give me an immediate strong line, which is almost impossible to rub-out. So once I make a mark I’m committed to it. My work has often been described as urban and visually strong. I’ve been influenced by comic books, pop art, Van Gogh and urban signage.
Oil pastel on paper on cardboard.When I see nature I like, I sometimes put it in a plastic bag and take it home. That’s a typical modern experience of nature.
This composite drawing compromises of studies of various types of leaves found in Berlin and a blue plastic bag, used to collect the leaves.The final piece of work is displayed using pieces of cardboard to hold the drawings out, away from the wall.
The leaves were created from drawings on coloured paper, which were then cutaway to reveal different coloured paper behind.
These are drawings of 9 different knives in 6 different colours.
The knives were drawn turning to produce drawings from different angles. The drawings were cut-out on cardboard and secured to the wall to create a rain of knives, albeit made beautiful by a rainbow of colour.
In Berlin I’ve been drawing objects with relevance to my experience of living here for the past 7 weeks.
The heat and humidity of the German summer has meant I’ve carried water with me. This is a learnt behaviour from living in London, where we’re regularly reminded to take water with us on the ‘tube’.
In Berlin I’ve made many drawings of the type of bottle I’ve carried with me; sometimes blue from the coloured plastic, at other times black and white from the bottle’s iconic shape. My German language skills are still very limited, “Eine flasche wasser, bitte” is a phrase I’ve regularly used around town.
Berlin’s Bauhaus stores are a cheap and enjoyable place to browse. For a few euros I’ve picked up items like these gloves, which are capable of expression and communication through the way the fingers are arranged. Russia and a luxurious golden pattern; what are they trying to say?
The drawings are of a pair of gardening gloves, bought from a Berlin hardware store (Bauhaus). 3 different types of paper were used in it’s creation. One is patterned with Russian dolls (Matryoshka).
The title “Kid gloves” is a reference to the situation in Ukraine and Europe’s approach to Russia and it’s involvement in the conflict there and its annexation of Crimea.
A second pair of gloves were also studied to produce a third piece of work at the exhibition.
The leaf drawings are work in progress for an on-line gallery Lapieza. The plastic bag artwork is from the La Ultima Cena exhibition in Berlin, Germany.