aUDIOMAPS.
aUDIOMAPS. (Not songs).
Field recordings, collaged soundscapes.
Filtered, re-sampled, looped, re-configured and re-constructed.
aUDIOMAPS is often collaborative in the recording, remixing and performative stage.
Texts are ‘cut ups’, overheard conversations, ‘found' statements, declarations. Part manifesto at times.
Loops. Samples. Sequences. A whisper. A sense of place.
Post Industrial Funk.
“People tend to play in their comfort zone, so the best things are achieved in a state of surprise, actually.” Brian Eno.
“People ask me, 'Don't you ever run out of ideas?' Well, in the first place, I don't use ideas. Every time I have an idea, it's too limiting and usually turns out to be a disappointment. But I haven't run out of curiosity.”
Robert Rauschenberg.
“Helen you’d better learn to spell repetition if you’re going to review The Fall”.
Kevin Cummins to Helen Ward, NME, 1990.
‘What mistakes did you make last time?
Brian Eno / Peter Schmidt - Oblique Strategies.
Akai Desktop Samplers | Eight Track Porta-studio | Record Decks and Knackered Records | A Music Box | A Megaphone | Voice | Bass
FOUR TESTS FOR TESTING TIMES.
aUDIOMAPS. (RE-imagined).
CONSTRUCT DECONSTRUCT RECONSTRUCT
TANDEM VIDEO DRAWING ONE.
Sticks and wire.
Remixed 2021.
DRAWING BOOK ONE.
Book made 2017.
Video recorded 2021.
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SCULPTURE AS DRAWING.
Paper, string, adhesive tape, detritus.
Variable dimensions.
Date unknown.
SCULPTURE AS DRAWING.Process Line, Shape, Mark, Sequence. Collage, Layered. Action/Gesture. Press, Gravity, Weight. Drawing. De-collage.
Drawing is absolutely integral to my studio practise. The process informs and underpins all my work. For me, drawing is not about representation, it’s more a gathering and ordering of a collection of memories. Half seen, overlooked fragments, fleeting moments. It’s where marks, surfaces, shapes, lines and textures coalesce. Entirely process orientated and risky, it becomes a dialogue with the materials.
These drawings are a consequence of walking through and out of the city, cycling up steep hills and past old factories. Periphery vision through the window of a speeding train. Late night motorway car journeys. Things at my feet, the sky above.
“Drawing is
the primal means of communication, which predates and embraces writing and
functions as a tool of conceptualisation parallel with language.” — From Deanna
Petherbridge, The Primacy of drawing.
The directness and immediacy of drawing is where I am at my most playful. Mark-making, cutting, ripping, punching holes, slicing, embossing. Often the images challenge the notion of what a drawing is or can be…
“A discourse between definition and
the unresolved, the systematic and chaotic, certainty and speculation.” — From The Good Drawing, CCW Bright 7
DRAWING TESTS SET ONE.
Nine possibilities.
Drawing, acrylic paint, ink and detritus collage
on paper.
Each panel – 10cm X 10cm.
2020.
CONSTRUCT DECONSTRUCT RECONSTRUCT 1.
Drawing, acrylic paint, ink and detritus collage
on paper.
200 X 200cm.
2018.
DRAWING TESTS SET TWO.
Nine possibilities.
Drawing, acrylic paint, ink and detritus collage
on paper.
Each panel – 10cm X 10cm.
2020.
BLACK DETRITUS DRAWING.
Found objects / detritus. String, wire,
cardboard, gloss paint, MDF.
200 X 200cm.
2017.
DRAWING TESTS SET THREE.
Nine possibilities.
Drawing, acrylic paint, ink, monoprint and
detritus collage on paper.
Each panel – 10cm X 10cm.
2021.
CONSTRUCT DECONSTRUCT RECONSTRUCT 11.
Drawing, acrylic paint, ink, photograms and
detritus collage on paper.
200 X 200cm.
2019.
TANDEM VIDEO DRAWING 2.
Paper.
Remixed 2021.
CONSTRUCT DECONSTRUCT RECONSTRUCT 2.
Drawing, acrylic paint, ink and detritus collage
on paper.
130 X 110cm.
2018.
CONSTRUCT DECONSTRUCT RECONSTRUCT 3.
Drawing, acrylic paint, ink and detritus collage
on paper.
130 X 110cm.
2018.
CONSTRUCT DECONSTRUCT RECONSTRUCT 4.
Drawing, acrylic paint, ink and detritus collage
on paper.
130 X 110cm.
2017.
CONSTRUCT DECONSTRUCT RECONSTRUCT 5.
Drawing, acrylic paint, ink and detritus collage
on paper.
260 X 220cm.
2017.
CONSTRUCT DECONSTRUCT RECONSTRUCT 6.
Drawing, acrylic paint, ink and detritus collage
on paper.
130 X 110cm.
2017.
CONSTRUCT DECONSTRUCT RECONSTRUCT 7.
Drawing, acrylic paint, ink and detritus collage
on paper.
130 X 110cm.
2017.
CONSTRUCT DECONSTRUCT RECONSTRUCT 8.
Drawing, acrylic paint, ink and detritus collage
on paper.
130 X 110cm.
2017.
CONSTRUCT DECONSTRUCT RECONSTRUCT 9.
Drawing, acrylic paint, ink and detritus collage
on paper.
130 X 110cm.
2016.
CONSTRUCT DECONSTRUCT RECONSTRUCT 10.
Drawing, acrylic paint, ink and detritus collage
on paper.
130 X 110cm.
2016.
CONSTRUCT DECONSTRUCT RECONSTRUCT 12.
Drawing, acrylic paint, ink and detritus collage
on paper.
50 X 50cm.
2019.
DRAWING BOOK TWO.
Book made 2017.
Video recorded 2021.
MAPS AND PLANS
ABACUS. X. METAL GRID. EMPIRE RIB LANDSCAPE WITH CAST FORMS.
Acrylic, household and spray paint, varnish on canvas and plywood with various found forms and detritus.
(233cm X 233cm. 2023).
2ONE2FOURONE TRA LA LA LA LA.
Acrylic,
household paint, spray paint, varnish, detritus collage on canvas.
(250cm x 250cm. 2019).
Painting is, for me, about process. I don’t start with a clear idea of a ‘finished’ image. Drawing sometimes informs and underpins the ‘laying out’. There is no hierarchy in my studio practice between drawing and painting. Drawing and painting co-exist equally. In fact there is no hierarchy between any aspects of my studio practice. Even making a cup of tea has a crucial place in all this! Layered. Edges. Gesture and geometry collide. Intuition and serendipity drive the work forward.
There is also performative element to all of this. Painting flat, against the wall. Rotating the canvas or substrate. Altering its position in conjunction with the other elements. Lifting, dragging, scraping, pouring. Cutting out and building up. Watching the paint move, seep, drift… A messy sequence of un-choreographed moves that end up making some sort of sense…
“
Like a researcher in his laboratory, I am the
first spectator of the suggestions drawn from the materials. I unleash their
expressive possibilities, even if I do not have a very clear idea of what I am
going to do. As I go along with my work I formulate my thought, and from this
struggle between what I want and the reality of the material - from this
tension - is born an equilibrium.” Antoni Tapies
These are not paintings of actual landscapes. But equally they are not abstract paintings either. They are much more than that. They have to be. They have to exist in their own right.
“When one is young and has experienced
a good deal of rejection, you want to show everyone how tough you are. Later you want to show how clever you
are. Later still, you want to see how far
you can push yourself. And finally, you dont give a f**k about anything, you just want to howl at the
moon.” John
Hoyland
Tests. Always testing. What will this do… Can this go there…
For me, painting is not about representation.
These pieces are the culmination of an archiving, collecting, finding, saving process...
Physical remnants of the city forced into new shapes, new contexts.
I am in a constant state of knowing and not knowing.
Tests. Keep testing.
“The bridge is not supported by one stone or another, but by the line of the arch that they form. Without stones there is no arch.” Italo Calvino - Invisible Cities.
PALE GHOST (BHF) WITH DIAMONDS AND ERASED MEMORIES.
Acrylic, household
paint, varnish, detritus collage on canvas, plywood and found substrates.
(340cm X 230cm. 2022).
BLIND SUMMIT. TRIPTYCH. BOUNDARIES, BORDERS,
STANDING FORMS.
Acrylic, household
paint, varnish, detritus collage on canvas, plywood slate and found substrates. (3.35cm X 1.67cm. 2020).
THE DIAMOND AS A LATE ADDITION TO THE LAY
OF THE LAND.
Acrylic, household paint, spray paint,
varnish, detritus collage and found objects on canvas MDF, old notice board and
other substrates. (215cm X 182cm. 2020).
DPK T SQUARE SECTION LAND SEA AND SKY.
Acrylic, household paint,
spray paint, varnish, detritus collage and found objects on canvas and an old
office desktop. (206cm x 161cm. 2020).
4 PANELS. ANTI CLOCKWISE LANDSCAPE /
FRAGMENTS AS CODE.
Acrylic, household and spray paint,
varnish, detritus collage on canvas, plywood and found substrate. (300cm x 167cm. 2020).
STANIFORTH END RIDE.
Acrylic,
household paint, spray paint, varnish, detritus collage on canvas. (40cm x 40cm 2020).
TESTING TESTING CELLAR 8.
Acrylic,
household paint, spray paint, varnish, detritus collage on canvas and found
substrate. (40cm x 20cm. 2020).
TEST NUMBER 9.
Acrylic, household and spray paint,
varnish, detritus collage on canvas, hardboard, found substrate and an old oven
dish. (40cm x 25cm. 2021).
GREY P40 3X’s
(200cm x 150cm. 2018).
![SLATES AND CROSSES (250cm x 125cm)]()
SLATES AND CROSSES
(250cm x 125cm. 2018).
EARTH DECK MIXER. SHADOWS AND PULSES. 16 PINS AND VENT.
Acrylic, household and spray paint, varnish, detritus collage and found objects on canvas, plywood, MDF and found substrates.
(270cm x 240cm. 2022).
ES O EY P. 12 DOTS. 3 CROSSES. LANDSCAPE.
(240cm x 155cm. 2020).
PAYNES GREY VERTICAL DRAG YELLOW DOT
(250cm x 250cm. 2019).
152X152 WALLPAPER AND X
(125cm x 200cm. 2019).
DRAG TWICE ONE CROSS
(250cm x 250cm. 2019).
SYSTEMS
ABSTRACT MEMORY.
Gif.
looped.
2018.
Systems. Sequences. Snapshots. Click Click Click.
The photograms suggested much more.
Rhythms. Beats. Sequences.
A conversation with a drummer was the catalyst to take things further.
Looking at the photogram sequences the response was to tap out beats, phrases, patterns…
‘These are percussive scores’ was the observation…
‘Drift’ was an audio response to three photograms which were seen as the initial ‘score’ to improvise and compose around field recordings and lo-fi sample loops.
Bear in mind that parts of the score may be devoid of direct musical relevance. Cornelius Cardew.
Snapshots. Snapshots. Click click click.
Motorways. Railways. Blur. Repetition. Sequences. Loops. Sequences. Loops.
The enemy of photography is the convention, the fixed rules of 'how to do.' The salvation of photography comes from the experiment.” Lazlo Moholy Nagy.
Maps, plans, birds-eye views. Drawings with light.
The darkroom as a creative space. A place of alchemy, surprises, celebrated mistakes.
A place where rules and discipline are in a fine balance with the element of chance.
“When I make a photograph I want it to be an
altogether new object, complete and self contained, whose basic conditions are
order - unlike the world of events and actions whose permanent condition is
change and disorder.” Aaron Siskind.
DOT DOT CROSS NO DASH.
Photogram on light sensitive paper.
51cm X 101cm.
2020.
TUBES AND LINES.
Photogram on light sensitive paper.
51cm X 101cm.
2018.
LIGHT DRAWING MACHINE PART.
Photogram on light sensitive paper.
51cm X 101cm.
2020.
SHREDS.
Photogram on light sensitive paper.
51cm X 101cm.
2018.
JUMBLED LETTER FORMS BLURRED SHADOW.
Photogram on light sensitive paper.
51cm X 101cm.
2020.
MACHINE BREAKS VIBRATES.
Photogram on light sensitive paper.
51cm X 101cm.
2018.
WAVE UPON WAVE TWO SMALL CROSSES.
Photogram on light sensitive paper.
51cm X 101cm.
2020.
THE DRIFT
Process
Camera | Film | Location X2 |
35mm Double Exposures
Walking
between locations. Images physically meshed together in one image. Images out
of alignment, overlapped, double exposed. Carefully considered locations; The
General Cemetery and City Centre re-developments. Old, decaying urban
infrastructure and spanking new student flat complexes. The city in the dead of
night and the city centre river Don in the sunshine.Walking. Journeys. Maps. The path of least resistance.
“He reached the
foot of the embankment, and waved with one arm, shouting at the few cars moving
along the westbound carriageway. None of the drivers could see him, let alone
hear his dry-throated croak, and Maitland stopped, conserving his strength. He
tried to climb the embankment, but within a few steps collapsed in a heap on
the muddy slope.
Deliberately, he turned his back to the motorway and for the first time
began to inspect the island.
'Maitland, poor man, you're marooned here like Crusoe – If you don't
look out you'll be beached here for ever...'
He had spoken no more than the truth. This patch of abandoned ground
left over at the junction of three motorway routes was literally a deserted
island. Angry with himself, Maitland lifted the crutch to strike this
meaningless soil.”
J.G. Ballard, Concrete Island.
“With cities,
it is as with dreams: everything imaginable can be dreamed, but even the most
unexpected dream is a rebus that conceals a desire or, its reverse, a fear.
Cities, like dreams, are made of desires and fears, even if the thread of their
discourse is secret, their rules are absurd, their perspectives deceitful, and
everything conceals something else.”
Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities.
