While living in Southampton I had a lot of space and time allowing me to create large ambitious work. Some of this work was difficult to store and build, as a result it was unsustainable as a continuous practice. I now recognise my need to make such large things and collect large objects as a sign that I could not contain emotions easily, as they spilled out or became a heaviness held within me. My artwork paralleled this as I carried large objects from place to place, that became oppressive and took over studio spaces, leaving me with little room to think clearly.
My enjoyment of finding objects on the streets remains, however it has become a photographic endeavour, I collect things in photo form and collage and catalogue them. I also have a newly found love of drawing that I left behind in my younger years and am finding it an exciting thing to revisit. What my artistic practice has become is an achievable and realistic practice that is contained and manageable, this makes it easier to see the work from a distance rather than being engulfed within it.
Currently I am finding objects and cataloguing them. Some of these photos become further abstracted into collages, some just remain within the system of the catalogue, which is a thing in itself. For now this contained way of working is suitable, but I do hope, that I will gain the opportunity to fill a gallery with an installation again. I will steadily build up to the creation of a total environment that I will exhibit in a gallery space. I guess what I have learned is that there is a time and place for large work. My ambition is to work small for a year, and build up to a proposal for an exhibition that will be considered and thought provoking in its presentation.
