Artist Statement

Artist statement

Part 2 Blackwater - Whispering Current December 2025

This body of work examines identity as a surreal, mutable state — one that flows between personal memory, collective history, and imagined experience. Situated within liminal spaces of water and atmosphere, these paintings negotiate the fragile boundaries between the physical and the metaphysical, the visible and the unseen.

Water functions both as material and metaphor: a site of reflection and dissolution, where selfhood becomes porous. Within this fluid environment, recurring symbols — thread, roots, and fish — operate as visual conduits for continuity and transformation. The thread evokes lineage and the unseen ties that bind individual and collective identities. Roots emerge as bodily extensions, suggesting origin, connection, and entanglement — a groundedness that resists dislocation even as it merges with the surreal surrounding environment. The fish, suspended in translucent waters, embody intuition and subconscious movement, alluding to cycles of renewal and transcendence.

The figures inhabiting these works exist in states of suspension — neither entirely present nor absent — rendered in a palette that emphasises luminosity and ambiguity. Their stillness gestures toward inner movement, recalling moments of ritual, remembrance, and quiet transformation.

Ultimately, this work seeks to evoke a contemplative space where identity is understood not as fixed or singular, but as a living continuum — one shaped by time, memory, and the unseen currents that connect all things.

For this exhibition I will use oil and watercolour paint.

Recent work May 2025 The Blackwater: Myths Memory, and the passage of time

In my current series, “Blackwater”, I explore the themes of memory, transformation, and collaboration with water's transient and unpredictable nature. Building on earlier work investigating water’s molecular ability to retain memory through ice sculptures, this series takes a more dynamic and immersive approach through my painting.

I intuitively and dynamically paint pictures of the surrounding area, farms, sheds, fields, woods and trees of the River Black Water that leads into the Lough Neagh. I prioritise the free fluid organic textured watermarks over the rigid drawing. The expressive power of watermarks is harnessed through soft drops, sprays, blobs and spontaneous run-off. how water shapes the landscape is mirrored on the canvas. In Blackwater, I collaborate with river water as both medium and subject. While I initiate the process with memory-driven mark-making and painting, water’s unpredictable movement—through splodges, paint runs, and transparent layering—takes over, creating an uncontrollable, evolving narrative. The water always has the final say.

The process begins with capturing photographs of the local area and gathering water and what natural pigment I have. These images inspire watercolour paintings, where water’s cleansing, distorting, and transformative qualities are embedded in the work. To deepen the connection to the landscape, I create some of my watercolour pigments, experimenting with local materials and refining my understanding of light, tonal value, and palette.

Blackwater reconciles childhood myths with present-day reality.

Perspectives from childhood can often feel buried in the murky waters of memory. Unearthing these personal myths has been the objective of this series, each painting a touchstone to a time, a belief, a pivotal feeling. I have found the river Blackwater a reliable allegory for this process, both as a physical landmark of where I grew up, but also because of its simultaneous permanence and changeability.

Blackwater is about using the muck of the riverbed. It ties in with my previous work around water and its capacity to hold energy and even memory. It is a showcase of the girl, the woman, the land, and the past.

These ideas are manifest in a tangible way with my experimental use of paint - I mirror the river’s unpredictable, fluid nature, allowing the medium to flow, pool, and merge naturally, I capture the movement and depth of the water, and the changing flow of our hold on the past.

The monochromatic series invites viewers into a space where the familiar becomes strange, offering a visual dialogue between past and present. Combining experimental, soil, peat, charcoal and watercolour pigments with the River Black Water’s Water, which I filtered before using, and photographic elements, I aim to evoke the layered history and haunting beauty of the river and its surroundings.

2021

My artistic production revolves around capturing the uncanny, or what I refer to as "unheimlich", and utilising it as an anchor for my work. I aim to expose aspects of the human condition that are often disconnected and inharmonious, with themes ranging from social isolation to states of conscious perception.

My methodology is to approach a piece of work with a child’s innocence and question everything as I draw on different disciplines to create a truer piece. The initial scary chaos challenges me to create freely in a multidisciplinary way and then an idea forms, and evolves.

I have explored the themes of social alienation, memory, and the uncanny. I am interested in capturing intimate glimpses of the lives and histories of those who are affected by these concepts. By utilizing film and still photography, I aim to provoke debate, serve as a catalyst for social change, and break down the barriers that keep people isolated from one another.

I also use a multidisciplinary approach that merges different art forms together, such as painting, sculpture, and installation. I experiment with new materials and techniques while staying true to the themes that are central to my artistic vision. Ultimately, my goal is to capture a glimpse into the human condition and provide a space for viewers to reflect and connect with the artwork on a deeper level.

In addition to my current explorations of social alienation and memory, I am also interested in the concept of boundaries. I believe that by removing boundaries, both externally and internally, we can achieve greater creative expression and connect more deeply with others. To explore this concept, I often use simple lines and shapes to create powerful effects that allow for personal interpretation.

Looking toward the future, I plan to continue exploring new themes and concepts that delve into the complexities of the human experience. I want to break down barriers, foster a sense of connection, and inspire positive transformation through my art. By pushing the boundaries of what is possible in terms of technique and content, I hope to continue growing as an artist and making a meaningful impact in the world of contemporary art.

My artistic practice will continue to be informed by my belief in the power of creativity to elicit emotion and to affect thought. I approach my work with a sense of curiosity and experimentation, always pushing the boundaries of what is possible in order to create art that is both evocative and transformative. My relief sculptures, “ the line,” were my reaction to the mass migration caused by recent conflicts and the suffering both physically and mentally inflicted on the displaced.

I have worked on a body of work called “Blackwater”, which had been 2 years in the making and in preparation for 2025. My watercolour paintings feed on recording the current social and political climate, and my inspiration comes from the global chaos of war being fought on every front, environmental catastrophe and economic crisis in the social and political landscape. I take a multi-media approach, a series of new and historical photographs is taken to explore and use as a reference, but not in a literal way for my work. I explore how the Northern Irish landscape can be stripped of meaning and become a canvas for various perspectives. The idea of abstraction with a chaotic vibe, in attempting to evoke feelings with no recognisable context, plays into the concept of lines, impressions, and our subconscious projects our reality. a culmination of a burst of colour. Using texture to showcase the relationship between subconscious intent and how the art is ultimately received.