Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, Life is but a dream Print

This large wooden panel is highly textured and features a looping pattern of marks over soft blue/green/greys. From a distance it appears to be a simple composition however closer inspection reveals many different small marks that make up the whole. The intention is for the viewer to be able to ‘lose themselves’ in following the marks around the image plane. The large scale was chosen to be able to get up close to it and be able to move around ‘within’ the image. The inspiration is the movement of water as a metaphor for life in constant flow. There are flower-like shapes floating in semi transparent layers over areas of raised texture created using glue, resin, wax and impasto paint. Calligraphic-like marks suggest the fleeting nature of reality. The aim is to suggest life as a being like a dream. It reflects my personal questioning of the illusion of permanence. We are taught to believe the ground beneath us is solid and yet everything around us is constantly in flux. The work is about my personal journey to learn to accept change. My influences are the large abstracts of Dale Frank, Helen Frankenthaler, ancient Buddhist art from Tibet and China and lyrical abstraction artist Zao Wou-Ki. The work has a wide edge painted black so it can be hung as it is without framing.