Hems & Folds is a series of monochrome paintings of shadowy content. Folds bind the appearance of a flow or succession of intervals together and hems double-back to stitch down the totality of the image. Like prosceniums, the borders set the stage for making things visible, whether real or imaginary.

 

Folds create shadows and shadows suggest negative things or inferior knowledge.  As signs of obscurity, they are often associated with duplicity. Seen from different points of view, they preserve traces of the meeting of dark and light, revealing something we didn’t know. Without shadows, you would not be able to see the shape of things.

 

The compositions of Hems & Folds are based on excerpts which lie somewhere between theatricality and the simple, unrestrained, everyday backdrops.  A contrasting palette of graphite and pearl captures changes of mood with the light, influencing what is seen and how it is interpreted.

 

This work is about the loopholes and stop-gaps that intervene between things, tie things together, and cause an emotional attachment.  It is also about time - moving between night and day, through ideas that erupt and fade, and vague notions about what determines how things are felt.  Thoughts come and go, intentions rise and fall and all that is known is either empty of content or inevitably uncertain, a world to which I feel linked.