Collages 2011-2018
Lost and Found, Koi Pond Series, Totems and Temples, AIDS Memorial Grove, Rising from the AshesMy collage work started in 2011 with my series Rising From the Ashes ( Collages #1-12) when I wanted to create art about the Fukushima Earthquake and Tsunami. I realised that no image could do it justice and so started tearing paper, creating abstract images about destruction, and the subsequent attempts to put our world back together. This exploration allowed me to explore the use of symbols as statements, and the chance aspects involved in torn paper.
The Koi Series are loosely based on observations of koi ponds. I was intrigued with representing the movement, shadow and light on water, specifically the flow of the fish and the reflections on the water surface which are are both abstract and representational at the same time. And finally with the challenge of creating these images with the flat surface of a cut piece of paper where only color and line can be used.
Lost and Found work is using the cast offs from cutting paper, kept by accident and reused in compositions redolent with chance and whim.