Tumbled

‘“I thought art was a verb, rather than a noun.” ― Yoko Ono

Tumbled (2021) explores the value of found materials in relation to colour and form. Each object is resurrected to become meaningful and to become ‘something to be looked at’ once more. Each object has a unique character, and this series looks at how paint can spark new conversations between objects.

Importantly, these objects are all found objects, heavy with their own histories, bearing marks and scratches, a testament to their long lives. They are found in scrapyards, building sites and from rummaging in bins. Some are gifted to the artist in acts of benevolence, from kind builders, obliging storekeepers and many from the Michaelis wood workshop. This process of recycling comes from an natural tendency to use what exists, to have minimum waste. Unlike these worn-down objects, the creamy Fabriano sheets in art stores do not tell the same stories.

As the painter, the artist's job here is to resurrect these pieces from the bin. These works walk the thin line between trash and art. Herein lies the thrill, like a twist in a story that can question assumptions and reconsider what holds value.

These objects are active; they feel like verbs. They twist, leap, float, dive, pinch, flow, bend, jump and pierce. There is kinship between them, united through dots of colour, rhythms of form. They are in an ongoing conversation with one another. The red painting sits next to the pastel blue painting to pull out its colour. The deep pink circle intersects with a wooden arm of pastel mauve. A squirt of bright yellow lights up a lime green piece of wood. And so the objects begin to speak.