Drawn Together
Contact with the natural environment has a positive effect on my mental wellbeing. When I engage with nature in a thoughtful and respectful way, I feel a sense of connection. Nature and I are being drawn together, when I touch a tree, its vibrations and strength give me strength in return. In essence, my work is a form of personal healing, a process of cutting and reassembling that simultaneously demonstrates my own growth and development. My work is concerned with the connection between humans and the natural world, exploring nature's potential to facilitate healing and transcendence, and serving as a metaphor for the transformative nature of creativity, where personal struggles can be transformed into artistic expression.
The intention behind these works is to encourage reflection on the passage of time and the way in which our immediate environment influences our identity. It can be seen as a visual metaphor for the interconnectedness of past, present and future, and encourages reflection on one's own position within this continuum.
The techniques I use include, combining found images and diary pages with cyanotype prints and abstract elements. The old is juxtaposed with the new. Contemporary c-type prints are paired with photographs from 1935, and botanicals are printed in cyanotype on typed diary pages. This mixing of media allows the creation of narratives that transcend temporal boundaries, facilitating a dialogue between different periods, perspectives and artistic techniques. The layering technique and textual elements serve to enhance the visual depth of the work, while also highlighting the multifaceted nature of memory and identity.