Like.2.0 Painting

As an artist situated within an abrasive and bustling metropolis like London, I utilise my art practise to make sense of the pace and complexities of the physical environment and the more technological networked spaces that make up the urban landscape. The relationship between human emotion and architecture and the required sociological considerations of urban planning influence the narratives I portray in my paintings. These narratives often consist of construction, gentrification advertising, rapid change and a sense of alienation. Urbanist Richard Sennett proposed that ‘Places’ are static and can be thought of as environments that we dwell in. ‘Spaces’ on the other hand are to be moved through. Working as a multi drop supermarket delivery driver, I often see the city space in motion, from the road and with the mode of labour in mind. Like a fly on the wall, this job offers a snapshot into the lives and localities of various others far and wide around the city. Thinking about this employed labour like performance or research as opposed to duty is key to the way I work. Using a kind of psychogeography within my painting practise and employment helps to unlock what isn’t always on the surface of the city fabric - the underbelly. With this in mind, I am for my paintings to portray municipal life in the present as surreal, jaded and jagged like the steel concrete and glass that forms its parts.