Artist Statement
Nefertiti
I'd earmarked that dead post Christmas period for some life drawing and even bought some new Faber-Castells but I got distracted. In an attempt to shave valuable seconds from the cross studio walk I tidied up a bit and found a large, heavy brass framed ink roller desperate for some attention. I stripped it down cleaned it up and put the drawing on hold.
Leaving the icy realm of the studio behind I set up shop on the kitchen table and began making some lino printing blocks. The designs were over ambitious and I'd forgotten to warm the lino first to make the cutting and carving that much easier. Consequently it became a labourious process and i started to fantasize about plan A.
I don't play music in the studio, some bullshit I'd told myself about suspending time and being present but that rule didn't apply in the kitchen. I grabbed the first disc to hand "Nefertiti" by Miles Davis and got back to work. The pulse, fragmentation and repetition within the music suggested shapes and processes. I could see myself hammering hard, black, geometric structures on to heavyweight paper. I saw dense clouds and horizons constructed from these shapes and slowly the lino forms emerged.
The pay off for the hours spent with scalpel and chisel came back in the studio. The output was frenzied and physical as the backgrounds took shape and I was soon looking for more.
I picked out riffs and phrases from the music and using bastardized versions of fingerboard charts, guitar tablature and a simple colour system I worked into and over the rhythmic printed backgrounds to enhance the images and further translate the spontaneity, depth and ambiguity of the musicians.
The work moved on in this way through ESP, Bitches brew and Sorcerer and a switch to canvas added depth and texture.
I'm still listening to Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter et al but keeping my eyes open for other silent music projects.
