My visual artistic practice has primarily been in the field of Printmaking and other Print related media, with research most recently being informed by time spent on the west coast of Scotland. This area lends itself greatly to subject matter that has always been apparent in my work, which is water. Water is very seductive to me. This was probably first realized when peering over the stern of the B.C. ferry as a small child, completely mesmerized by the repetitive motion of the churning wake. I find myself most inspired spending many meditative hours obsessively analyzing the lustrous shine on the crest of the waves as the tide ebbs and flows.
A major factor having a profound effect during my research on the coast was the realization of my Uncle having developed severe dementia. I have become interested in the idea of rebuilding a relationship with someone whom you were very close to at one time, yet has absolutely no idea who you are now. This new relationship sparked ideas such as the notion of constant fluctuation, distortion and instability, all inherent qualities of water The work is of a time based nature, as the pieces represent a documentation of various visits with my Uncle as his condition became progressively worse.
These ideas have surfaced in a body of printed photographic pieces entitled: Lost In Tide. They are a series of portraits of my Uncle placed behind a water-like textured window (though the window may sound confusing, it is a common thing in most British homes). The quality of the window diffuses the subject in a way that the division between presence and absence is obscured. As his days are often spent at home slowly observing the tide of the Irish Sea, the water-like texture of the window almost reflects the flux of his mind. The images are then photographically printed onto a three-meter by one-meter sheet of silk. The silk material is important to the piece, given it is very translucent and fluid-like. I find the use of photography appropriate to the work, as it is a tangible memory of a particular moment in time. The combination of the delicate, preciousness of silk with the soft, yet sometimes disturbing qualities of the photographs makes for a dynamic piece that is very ephemeral in nature.
