The aim of my work is to transform unremarkable everyday phenomena into images which steal gravitas through their translation into the traditions of oil painting.
When re-contextualised, the recognizable becomes charged with a sense of cryptic symbolism and metaphor synonymous with the historically grandiose. Without there necessarily being any way to decipher them, these paintings acquire an enigmatic quality, as if there is some hidden content the work is reticent to reveal
To differentiate between the grossly arcane authenticity of a Flemish golden age, and the quick vapour of the modern is to miss the point. Clingfilm is of equal value to fine silk, leading you to disregard the petty differences between things, so as to investigate their underlying mysteries. Oil paint makes no difference between finery and trash, both can be described in the same revered medium. To segregate matter by perceived value is to skim over any investigation of its true nature; turning the tools of classical painting against themselves allows us to see the ecstatic banal of oil paint itself. As the Vanitas pilfers mortality in the name of making a snappy skull image, low status consumables begin to preach cosmic philosophy and the gaze is returned to the paint itself.
