Nature has a natural means of returning all matter to earth, and yet reveals glowing instances where it manages to preserve elements of its own creation. I keep a small amber collection – but there is a distinct difference to my latest additions in that they contain life forms. I am reliably informed that these fossils are incredibly tiny flies. Under my microscope they appear as perfectly preserved forms from approximately 40 million years ago. This is an instance of where Nature, with its determination to render all matter back to earth, has only partially succeeded. So why does this interest?
I was raised in a world where it often felt as though the beauty around me was continually being destroyed. In the literal sense of the physical beauty of things being destroyed, but also in a figurative sense: the destruction of a beauty contained in a family unit; the beauty of my brother and his life blighted by illness; the beauty of a childhood innocence, lost. So this kind of beauty often felt like an ephemeral thing. Part of me has always wanted to explore a way of controlling and preserving beauty in my present life. So in my paintings I seek out the objects that fascinate, inspire and bring a sense of order and beauty into my world.
No comments:
Post a Comment