The paintings document a journey made by road from one
location to another. They work as a series and follow a route
from my home town of Norwich through landscape, cities and
tunnels as far as London. I use digital photography and video
to collect source material to generate the work. I travel
by bus, using the camera to take pictures through the front
and back windscreens of the vehicle. I record perhaps 200
photographs and select from these to paint a specific journey
with a specific location. The images are often framed by the
bus windscreen and rear view mirror. I work directly from
the photograph using oil on board.
I am influenced by road trips I have made in the USA, Europe
and more recently my home in East Anglia. The paintings also
reference the narrative sequence of road movies along with
themes of freedom and alienation. It is also important that
the paintings are mediated images framed by the vehicle windscreen,
via a digital medium, and finally made within the frame of
a painting. This mediation references the speed and digital
imaging current in modern living. The images make the familiar
and speedy experience of driving appear slower and more unfamiliar.
The painterly marks slow down the reading of the image; whilst
the florescent paint echoes the road markings and signage
along the route.
All paintings are 43x33cm oil on board |
