Chaotic wild

(2013-present)

2013 was the first of a 3 month residency at Sturt Craft Centre, NSW, Australia. In 2019 I revisited Sturt, this time to make work for a solo exhibition, Sentient. I can only describe these unforgettable months as 'under the skin', almost spiritual times. The bush is authentic. Raw. I was captivated and humbled by the overwhelming power of the Australian bush and its eucalypt structures - its seemingly chaotic, unfettered & uncompromising wilderness. It was intoxicating - gum trees, ghost gums, scribbly gum, stringybark, ironbark - their scarred texture on delicate yet brutal, fractured forms. And so it is with the Chaotic Wild collection. Cracks, joins and splits (often viewed as potential weaknesses) are encouraged to grow into adventurous, sometimes anarchic, features. This area has touched me, as have the people. And that touch I pass on through my fingers into these forms.