Window study IX Print

One of a series of 12 paintings on paper. The use of a window frame is both literal and metaphorical, a visual representation of the idea that we experience the world and reality subjectively, through a filter. Sense perceptions, ideas, beliefs, art and literature, the ‘objective’ truth of science, these are just some of the windows through which we interpret and give meaning to our existence; the frame, as it appears, alters the content. The abstract drawings trace residual marks and tonal changes, are an attempt to uncover, and draw attention to form, rather than simply create it, ‘let us trace the pattern, no matter how disconnected and incoherent its appearance’ (Virginia Woolf, 1919). The figurative drawings are inspired by my love of Japanese art, its focus on our relationship with nature and the natural landscape. Elements are taken directly from Sesshu Toyo’s ‘Winter landscape’, and there are references to the work of Hokusai. The garden and meadow flowers in some of the paintings reference the natural landscape of my home.