My work explores the evolving realm of myths
and legends that most of us eventually outgrow, but also posits that
they are just as important today as they were a thousand years ago.
They spark our imaginations and trigger escapist tendencies when we
need to separate ourselves from our increasingly dystopian world.
Using
a combination of skills to cast, transmute and augment the human body
to recreate human aspects in a more chimerical vein, my aim is to
facilitate disassociation from reality whilst adding a contemporary
twist to the legend or myth I am conveying.
Life casting helps
illustrate the realism of mortality inherent in each piece which is
different in essence from work achieved by sculpting from a blank piece
of material. It also adds to the specific peculiarity of the work.
Once this is achieved the human form is then imbued with qualities of
timelessness and immortality, reflected by the fable
which inspired its design.
Inspiration for my work can come from
many places. Something as simple as detritus collecting on the surface
of a pool or the way a tree has grown to resemble a figure with its
arms outstretched can trigger the impulse to recreate a creature that
my imagination has engineered from such everyday objects. I have been
especially inspired by the literary works of such high fantasy authors
as J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Paolini and Stephen Donaldson among
others, often also including elements of humour which share the same
tenor as those of Neil Gaiman or Terry Pratchett.
I do not wish
to bemuse or baffle the viewer with my work, so my pieces tend to be
relatively literal. I intend to present beauty in the object and as the
message being conveyed through the piece is important to me; I feel
that it should be easily read and not lost in the haze of ambiguity.
