September 2026
Sections
Sections is a series of six oil paintings that invites the viewer to look beyond the immediate surface. Through the layered qualities of paint, form and texture, I encourage a slower, more attentive way of looking revealing details and relationships that may not be immediately apparent.
It started with my installation in a lavoir in France. To read about this exhibition, see the July blog. Within this environmentally aware, inclusive, outdoor mail-art exhibition, I created an installation consisting of postcard-sized, mixed-up sections of an image of plants. The idea behind it was that, in order to solve the gigantic problem of climate change, we may need to break it down into smaller sections so that our brains can cope with the difficult choices we face and the potential end of our planet. One of my favourite philosophers, Timothy Morton, categorises the climate change emergency as a ‘hyperobject’, due to the subject being too large and complex for humans to fully comprehend. My sections were jumbled up like a puzzle.
In my art installation, I am saying that if we do not try to solve the puzzle of climate change before it is too late, we will lose our environment. However, trying to work out this looming catastrophe can be beautiful rather
than a chore. Small changes can make a major difference to both our planet and our personal wellbeing.
The use of sections is something I want to bring more into my art. I also want to recycle materials where I can, rather than always starting with something new. I want to find ways of reusing old work and giving it a different context.
As I experiment and develop my practice, I have realised that the way I paint large canvases—now working on the floor rather than upright on a wall or board on an easel—has improved my sense of composition. One of my first large oil on canvas paintings was painted upright on an easel. Although the composition does not flow in the way I wanted, there are areas within it that I like very much. I felt these different areas could be curated separately.
Following on from my installation idea, I decided to cut the large painting into sections, allowing these areas to become images in their own right rather than painting over them. In this way, I can give parts of an existing work a new life and explore how changing the scale, placement and relationship between sections can alter the way the work is experienced.
To keep to my recycling agenda I stretched the cut up canvas sections onto old painting frames so I did not have to buy anything new. I took my sections to A Party in Hell, a creative gig, at the Railway Pub Southend and I am now looking for a gallery to show this work.
2nd October 2026