May 02, 2022 - May 20, 2022
Artist's studio
Not formally exhibited
Mindscape
Minescape definition:
All the things that a person … thinks about and believes.
A mental or psychological scene or area of the imagination.
A representation of such a scene or area, as in a work of art.
Artist's statement
I’ve always collected small stones and pebbles from locations important to me. They have travelled with me from home to home, but I’ve never been quite sure what to do with them creatively.
A bit of personal history that maybe explains my stone obsession …
I was born and grew up in Devon in England as had previous generations on my mother’s side, and as a family we would often daytrip to nearby Dartmoor. This moor is an area well-known for its rocky outcrops (tors), its medieval bridges made from huge slabs of stone, and its pebble-filled streams. So, a visual fascination with stones must have been bred into my genetic makeup.
We moved to South Africa in 1970 when I was a teenager. I’ve lived here ever since and always been drawn to my second country’s mountains and koppies and more barren areas.
As well, I married into a family of Greek heritage, and we spent many summers on the island of Lefkas off the west coast of Greece. Again, I was so drawn to this island with its rocky mountains and its pebbly beaches and pathways.
In 2022 I moved to England for two years, to Surrey with soft green rolling hills. Devoid of stones. My mind was constantly troubled by waves of nostalgia, especially yearning for my beloved South Africa’s dramatic landscapes. While in Surrey I had the idea to use these small stones and make rubbings from parts of them to create tiny landscapes as a secret reminder of the places where they had been collected.
Series 1: Caversham mindscape stone
A collection of small (+/- 10 cm wide) frottages of one stone on Japanese rice paper. 2022.
These frottages are all from one specific stone found in the stream at The Caversham Press - a place that has held memories of 30 years of friendship and creativity - and gifted to me by my friend Malcolm Christian.
