Statement

Statement

My practice is process led and stems from the idea that our world is defined by a network of relations rather than a collection of objects. I find it fascinating that one shift in these relations can alter both matter and our perception of it. This insight has led me to explore and experiment with materials as dynamic sets of properties, before assembling them into forms that embody other kinds of connections and meanings.

There are two phases in my explorations. First, I observe the interplay between material and process. I am particularly intrigued when a material loses its distinctive features and takes on the appearance of another. For instance, in the case of wood-bending, the newly shaped strips of wood appear to exhibit the characteristics of metal. The transformation from the familiar to the newly unfolding conveys a sense of wonder.

The next stage in my process involves assembling or combining these altered elements to create a form. My decisions are primarily guided by my ongoing search for balance between space and matter, where I see space, much like the natural world, as the essential substrate that facilitates movements and exchanges, actively participating in the narrative of the form. Throughout this process, I also strive to further decontextualise the materials and delay their recognition by creating unexpected connections with other materials or employing them in unconventional ways. I find it exciting how relationships between elements can impact both the outcome of the form and our interpretation of it.

These assembling decisions can, at times, conflict with the integrity of the form. However, grappling with technical issues can also lead to impromptu discussions with colleagues broadening the meaning of interactions. As such, problem-solving is integral to the form-making process and enriches the work on multiple levels.

I see the outcome of my work as the expression of my exploration which, through processes, leads to delayed recognition of materials. I hope it conveys my sense of wonder or at least creates intrigue and invites the viewer to consider the dynamic interplay between elements where intangible networks of happenings lead to transformation and alter our perception.

This outcome can take various forms, ranging from abstract to more representational, sometimes architectural or embracing a more organic aesthetic. As space is an integral part of it, the form is often characterised by lightness and transparency, with its shadow expanding the work both physically, by adding depth and dimension, and symbolically, by conveying further intricate and unseen chains of connections. The form, shadow, and title are all that remain of my investigations, where the title references an aspect of my interpretation. In the end, it is the viewer’s gaze and their unique perspective that imbue the form with its inherently transient meaning.

Notes

1 – Shadows’ chains of connections

As they encounter matter and create shadows, the particles of light connect us and everything else, including our present, to their distant cosmic past. In turn, as shadows move with the rotation of the Earth, shadows link everything, including us, to Earth and its cycles, and therefore to the Sun and the passing of time.

2 – distant past of a photon

According to NASA, after a photon leaves the sun’s core, it moves outward to begin its long journey. Any individual photon takes more than 100,000 years to travel from the core to the outer border of the radiative zone because it bounces up and down rather than moving in a straight line. Once it reaches the surface of the sun, the photon takes 8 minutes to reach the Earth. The modern form of Homo Sapiens appeared about 100000 years ago and Earth was going through a period of ice age.

The Andromeda galaxy is the most distant object visible to the naked eye. The light from there has travelled through space for around 200,000 years to reach us. Some of the stars whose light reach us today would have died in the intervening time. Certain powerful telescopes will capture the light of stars as they were 13 billion years ago. A higher percentage of these stars whose light reach these telescopes today will now be dead.

Sustainability

Whilst my art practice is not about environmental sustainability, it is one of my greatest concerns. I aim to source recycled or found objects or green and sustainable materials, as well as engage with Eco-friendly, low energy consumption processes whenever possible, always favoring manual over power tools. My work also tends to be very light which makes it easy to transport, with a low overall carbon footprint.

More information on materials and processes here.

Favourite quotes

‘Anything which possesses any sort of power to affect another, or to be affected by another, if only for a single moment, however trifling the cause and however slight the effect, has real existence; and I hold that the definition of being is simply action.’ Plato’s The Sophist (c. 366-365 BCE)

‘Anything that exists, exists thanks to, as a function of, or according to the perspective of, something else.’ Buddhist philosopher Nāgārjuna’s central notion of “emptiness” (śūnyatā) (nothing has independent existence) (c. 150-250 CE)

‘What is real is not the external form, but the essence of things…’ Constantin Brancusi (1876 – 1957)

‘For those of us who believe in physics, the distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.’ Albert Einstein wrote this on 21st March 1955, in a letter addressed to the sister of his best friend (Michele Besso) who had just died.

‘Dans ses milles alvéoles, l’espace tient du temps comprimé. L’espace sert à ça.’
‘In its countless alveoli, space contains compressed time. That is what space is for.’ Gaston Bachelard, 1957

‘Illusion – or rather appearance, semblance – is the theme of my life. All that is, seems, and is visible to us because we perceive it by the reflected life of semblance. Nothing else is visible.’ Gerhard Richter 1989

‘The hole is also the space occupied by the air we are breathing now, by the sunlight that has taken eight minutes to reach us, and by the starlight that is two thousand years old. In the space inside, or rather, through the sculpture, time is both present and meaningless.’ Jeanette Winterson, ‘The hole of life’, Tate Research Publication, 2003, essay on the achievement of Barbara Hepworth

‘Properties do not reside in objects but are the bridges between them’. Carlo Rovelli

‘Objects don’t have interactions with each other; they are those interactions.’ Carlo Rovelli

Reality is ‘not a collection of things, it’s a network of processes. This pushes us to rethink reality in terms of relations, instead of objects, entities or substances.’ Carlo Rovelli