Steel Panel Series

AL . BRON . TINY . JAMO . & JERRY

Charcoal and rust on panel steel 1.2m x 1.2m

My relational journey outside of the gallery led me to meet some extroidinary folk. In a world where society has been numbed by cyber interaction social development has been lost and the art of conversation, the art of getting to know someone has been lost. I met extremely interesting people in some of the most mundane places, dumpyards, steelworks, engineering companies, all of these people create a part of my art, they are a part of my art, and when I looked into acknowledging not only the lines on their faces but the lines of their lives I found some truly profound stories. This hold true for my love of the juxtiposition between a face on the internet and a face in person.

Abstractions

I find that as an artist my work generally consists of very tight work where there isn't much freedom to flow, I use tiny brushes, or fine charcoal, I develop soft delicate dental sculptures, or resin works so every now and then you will find the odd piece of abstract. For me this is when I simply let myself paint without having boundaries, I don't look at the concepts or question what it all means, I simply paint for a blow out, I love abstract work because it gives me the freedom to breathe and then move onto something more delicate.

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
2006 Whitecliffe College End of Year Exhibition
Rimu, matai, kauri and pine slabs, wax, acrylic, pastel, oil & screen printing
1m sq

A expressive piece, the elephant in the room is uncomfortably large, squashed into a tiny space, creating a nuisance to all those around it, both heavy and solid, both bold, and shy, it is exposed.
The elephant in the room is a memory of my life, poetry of my saddest moments highlight the walls, it is about the moments in life everyone comes across but no one discusses. The elephant in the room is about losing your loved one, and wanting to scream from the mountain tops that has happened, it is here in this room with us, it is cancer the of your mother, the disability of your family, or the suicide of your friend, it is losing your baby sister after you watched her with illness, it is the loss of your daughter. The elephant is in the room, the elephant is here, and it is with us.

This piece is like a large distracting self exposing portrait, it looks at the lines and swirls of a life... of my life. It is about a sixteen year old child looking for comfort through loss, and realising that to others loss and pain simply represent an elephant in the room, it is not easy to look in the face, it is easier to look away. I realised however that you cannot shift to hide from it, so I chose to expose it.