Produced during an intensive 10-day period in a studio on the north-east coast of Scotland in February 2006. In a very real sense the pieces are not about the sea at all but about a potential ‘wholeness’ of experience that might be symbolised by the sea.

These pieces were produced working alongside the poet Pat Borthwick incorporating words from a long poem entitled Chance. A creative collaboration in which the visual artworks enter into a dynamic relationship with source texts rather than offering a straightforward transcription.

A central theme in this series is the inherent limitations of language. Layering, fragmenting, juxtaposing texts, focusing attention on the visual dimensions of writing as opposed to its literary content can potentially point us to aspects of our experience that ultimately resist being pinned down by language.

The phrase ‘Deep calls to deep’ from Psalm 42 has called forth a whole ongoing series of works that juxtapose different materials such as lead, gold and slate with paper.

Is This The Sea?

Chance