Artist Statement and Art Notes

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.

Art Notes

The second chapter of The Blackwater series deepens its meditation on memory, place, and the shifting nature of identity. Through water, light, and atmosphere, figures surface and dissolve in dreamlike spaces where boundaries blur—body and landscape, self and memory. Motifs of thread, roots, and fish anchor meaning amid quiet transformation.

My paintings draw from the River Blackwater and the troubled waters of Lough Neagh, beginning with reflections and fragments at the river’s edge. From these emerge spectral guardians, root-born forms, and boats woven from memory—images where ecological crisis, myth, and personal observation converge.

The river becomes a threshold: between land and water, reality and dream, decay and renewal. Figures linger in suspension, rendered with luminous ambiguity, evoking ritual and remembrance. This work invites contemplation of identity as fluid, shaped by time and unseen forces.

Recent pieces respond to Lough Neagh’s toxic blooms—a presence that feels sentient, infiltrating memory and emotion. Here, contamination becomes metaphor: how we absorb and adapt to a world in flux. Whispering Currents offers both intimate reflection and a wider meditation on environmental precarity, creating a space where vulnerability becomes recognition and reverence.
The paintings are created using encaustic and oil techniques and are set in wooden frames. These images capture the vibrant stages of my artistic journey, showcasing the evolution from initial sketches to more refined, expressive pieces. Each picture reflects a step of growth, experimentation with colour and form, and a deepening of creative confidence. They serve as a visual story of discovery, inviting you to witness the unfolding of my unique artistic voice.

Recent work May 2025

Solo Exhibition: Blackwater
Blackwater: Myths, Memory, and the Passage of Time

Blackwater is an inquiry into the intersection of myth, memory, and place, re-examining personal narratives formed in childhood through the lens of adult reflection. The series seeks to excavate early perceptions—long submerged within the sedimented layers of memory—and to reanimate the formative myths that continue to shape identity. Each painting operates as a mnemonic device, tethered to a distinct time, belief system, or emotional terrain. Central to this exploration is the River Blackwater, both as a literal landmark of my early life and as a symbolic conduit for memory’s dual tendencies toward permanence and transformation.

The work foregrounds the material and metaphorical properties of the riverbed—its murk, sediment, and unseen currents—as a means of investigating water’s capacity to hold and transmit memory and emotion. Figures of the girl, the woman, the land, and the past are interwoven through experimental techniques that emulate the river’s fluidity and unpredictability. By relinquishing control over the flow of pigment, allowing watercolour to pool, merge, and granulate organically, the paintings echo the mutable dynamics of recollection and the elusive nature of temporal experience.

The exhibition engages with broader themes of impermanence, tranquility, and ecological interconnectedness, drawing aesthetic and philosophical inspiration from the dark, tannin-rich waters of the River Blackwater. Through stratified granulation, organic pigment movement, and translucent layering, Blackwater offers a contemplative space wherein visitors are invited to encounter both the natural world and their interior landscapes.

The integration of a short film further extends the sensory dimensions of the exhibition, fostering an embodied, multisensory mode of engagement. The project resonates with the principles of wabi-sabi—the appreciation of transience and imperfection—and shodō, the meditative practice of Japanese calligraphy, reinforcing its commitment to mindfulness, presence, and the quiet, transformative power of memory.

Sketchbooks: Art Notes and Fragments of Flow

Riverwalk constitutes an ongoing series of sketchbooks documenting direct, embodied encounters with the River Blackwater and its surrounding landscapes. These sketchbooks function as fieldwork: sites of observation, reflection, and improvisation, capturing the river’s shifting moods and material realities in situ.

Through loose studies, fragmentary drawings, and written notations, Riverwalk explores the immediacy of place and the artist’s evolving relationship to it over time. The project foregrounds walking as both a physical journey and a method of attunement—slowing down, witnessing, and becoming porous to the environment.

In dialogue with the Blackwater paintings, Riverwalk provides an intimate, processional counterpoint: a lived archive of textures, atmospheres, and fleeting impressions that informs and enriches the larger body of work. Together, the two series articulate a meditation on impermanence, memory, and the river’s ceaseless conversation with the land.

Art Notes:

Exhibition work and projects

Line - wabi

“In this project, I explored Shodo principles using an ink pen and black ink, focusing on the expressive power of line. Each stroke was a deliberate act of mindfulness—final, uncorrectable, and reflective of my state of mind in that moment. The project emphasized asymmetrical balance, fluidity, and the beauty of imperfection, aligning with the concept of wabi.

By stripping away color and working solely with black ink, I deepened my understanding of how line alone conveys energy, weight, and movement. The Enso, drawn in a single, unbroken motion, line drawing became a daily practice in being present, while drawings became meditative exercises in slowing down and focusing on each mark as it emerged on the paper. Whether it darkened, merged with another, or added or subtracted form.

This process reinforced the connection between drawing and writing—both forms of mark-making that capture more than just form; they record the artist’s rhythm, breath, and attention. The experience continues to inform my approach to art, reminding me that every line is a moment of transformation. And of it’s healing quality. I my exploration with ink pen and black ink, I approached the mark-making as a journey rather than a destination. The first stroke on the page was irreversible, an imprint of a moments focus, unlike other media that allows correction. Each mark became an acceptance of imperfection, a balance between control and spontaneity.. It taught me about fluidity- the unbroken motion, patience, each line unfolding without rush or hesitation, boldness of immediate expression, a dialogue between mind and hand. Whether structured or free, controlled or instinctive, a reflection of the journey rather then the result.

Skin of the wall -The Wall as Surface, Memory, and Temporal Field

In this series, the wall is approached not as an inert boundary but as an active surface — a living archive in which material, time, and environment converge. The works examine how the slow processes of weathering, fading, and erosion become aesthetic events in themselves, transforming utilitarian architecture into an accidental form of abstraction. The peeling layers of paint and pigment perform a kind of visual archaeology, revealing traces of human presence and erasure. In this sense, the wall operates as a palimpsest — a surface repeatedly inscribed and effaced, where each mark carries the residue of previous gestures.

Drawing upon the aesthetics of wabi-sabi and the poetics of entropy, the images foreground impermanence as both subject and method. They invite the viewer to engage with the beauty inherent in decline and to consider decay not as a failure of preservation but as a form of transformation. The marks left by time, weather, and neglect are read as inscriptions of non-human agency, suggesting that material surfaces possess their own capacity to record and to remember.

By framing these walls through a lens of close observation, the series destabilises traditional hierarchies between the constructed and the natural, the intentional and the accidental. What emerges is a meditation on temporality — on how environments age, shift, and recompose themselves beyond the control of human design. The work thus situates itself within broader discourses of material culture and phenomenology, proposing that every surface holds within it an invisible history of touch, exposure, and endurance. The decaying wall becomes, ultimately, a metaphor for the persistence of time itself: fragile, layered, and continuously rewriting its own surface.Time alters every surface. In these walls, colour, texture, and erosion become language — a quiet record of transformation, loss, and persistence.

2021

"unheimlich"

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.

Cinders

I want to explore making an object like a photograph disintegrate into dust, the lasting impressions still charged with human energy. 

My images are upcycled anamorphosis photographs; the distortion made by the heat of the cinders on the print paper. As dust we are interwoven into the very fabric and harmony of the earth, carrying with us the genetic memories, earth’s delicate balance of what was intuited restored.

These works explore the theory that a trace, consciousness, a memory, or an impression of thought can be more powerful than the original object; the subject from which those impressions are first drawn. The remnants’ of a ruined image often hold more interest, more provocation and power, than the original image could instil or evoke and the fire and cinders often transcend instinctual fear and fascination in the viewer.

I wanted to hone in on the notion that the photograph or image can be de-structured, dissolved particles suspended into ash or cinders. The photographic image loses structure, becoming fragile, its ephemeral nature revealed, retaining its surviving marks, morphed icons and scars as evidence of its former existence.  I want to explore the question, what happens to our understanding when only a trace is left?  Does it become a stronger image?

Exodus

Exodus explores identity in migration, how individuals lose their sense of being and cultural belonging when forced to move because of displacement, war or the search for a better life.

The series of paintings and sculptures begins with canvases of faceless, human icons and the journey of traveling through the medium of relief sculptures. This is to represent the current portrayal of migrant populations. They are dehumanized into a single entity, as crowds, without a voice. With such portrayals, we as the viewers are often unable to establish direct empathy, as there are no individuals to relate with, and sometimes the human element is obscured below the surface.

This series of is intended to bring into focus gradually, the individuals who make up migrant populations. In doing so, the ability to connect and open a dialogue with the viewer and the subject will be possible. Enabled through the medium of sculpture, and painting, we are encouraged to connect on a personal level, ultimately being reminded that we are all human.

Exodus

Encaustic Paintings

Exodus explores identity in migration and how individuals lose their sense of being and cultural belonging when forced to move because of displacement, war, or the search for a better life.

The series of paintings and sculptures begins with canvases of faceless, human icons and the journey of travelling through the medium of relief sculptures. This is to represent the current portrayal of migrant populations. They are dehumanised into a single entity, as crowds, without a voice. With such portrayals, we as the viewers are often unable to establish direct empathy, as there are no individuals to relate with, and sometimes the human element is obscured below the surface.

This series is intended to bring into focus gradually the individuals who make up migrant populations. In doing so, the ability to connect and open a dialogue with the viewer and the subject will be possible. Enabled through the medium of sculpture and painting, we are encouraged to connect on a personal level, ultimately being reminded that we are all human.

Icemen

The construction of the Elan Valley Dam in Wales at the turn of the 20th century was made possible by the labor of thousands of skilled navvies (navigational engineers and laborers). These workers, many from Ireland, Scotland, and England, endured harsh conditions as they excavated vast quantities of earth and stone, using both steam-powered machinery and traditional hand tools to harness the power of water. Their efforts provided a vital water supply to Birmingham, sustaining life for generations. In a similar spirit, my Icemen symbolize these navvies—figures built to control and shape water, bringing life and sustenance to entire populations.