About my artwork
Explanation
My paintings and sculptures are mostly conceptual in style, mixing abstract with representational images. I have focused on two themes - aging women's bodies and breast cancer.
Come Inside
Compressed foam, washing line,
hardboard, acrylic paint;
width: 40cm height: 52cm
2005
Aging Women's Bodies
The sculptures are about the effects of aging.
The concept of beauty is at the heart of youth culture and is also of central importance to the self-regard of aging women. This has persuaded them to present their looks by using means like diet, drugs, exercise, cosmetic surgery and attendance at health farms.
My sculptures aim to confront the issue of decay and challenge the negative associations society heaps on women with grey hair, wrinkles and bulges.
Thus, the dancing torsos and visceral tubes attempt to convey the idea that aging does not mean the end of ambition, nor does it exclude the display of qualities like vibrancy and sexuality.
I use a variety of materials including wood, compressed foam, wire, plaster and papier-mache.
My recent work is made from foam tubing and foam blocks. My sculptures are painted in bright reds, oranges, pinks and black. The paint is acrylic or household gloss.
So what?
Compressed foam, hardboard,
acrylic paint;
width: 61cm height: 31.5cm
2006
Photo: Tim Keeler
email: lensman44-pal@yahoo.co.uk
Breast Cancer
Every year some 41,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK. This figure includes one of my close friends.
Women are encouraged to normalise after their treatment. Their cancer becomes invisible. But it signifies possible death.
In my sculptures I am asking what it would feel like if breast cancer was visible. How do women with breast cancer come to terms with their different bodies, with asymmetry? How can we celebrate their beauty now?