Artist’s statement
Artwork title: ‘Speak’ | Artwork media: Acrylic on canvas | Artwork dimensions: 900 x 900mm
Currently, I am working on a series of paintings involving the imagined child and its spirit. This is a development of my earlier work, which used ceramic heads to depict the emotional shock that can occur in childhood.
The themes in my latest work play on aspects of ‘spirit’ as friend and guide, either before death, at point of death release, then after.
In ‘Speak’, third in the series, and displayed here, the image explores the released spirit, portrayed in decay, instigating a conversation with the infant – almost like a chat with a pal. Initially the child is wary, but becomes drawn in by the realisation this is its own spirit and that there is still something to be gained.”
