The inspiration for my work is found in the north banks of the River Thames and onto Rainham Marsh, these images are metaphors for the constant that is life.
This constant is never more present than when found in the body of the River Thames with its historical references, its relentless suck and pull of the tide.
The industrial river landscape offers a harsh yet inspiring vista, there are gems to be found in squalid architecture, graphics, graffiti, abandoned relics and the people. Essex and east London has a long history of a transient population looking to improve their lot, looking to move to the imagined safety of higher ground, both in reality and metaphorically.
People pass through this part of Essex, nobody comes to visit, there sre no tourists. Commuters escape along the A13 trunk road, crossing the QE2 bridge and disappearing through Kent into France and beyond.
Within that human traffic is a high energy from the people, working quickly, agitating their way to success and failure, and who may appear hard, because life is hard. This ferocious activity informs my palette, the use of colour and subvering of the painterly surfaces counters the harsh reality of life.
There is hope
|