I observe the tangibility and materiality of natural objects and everyday things, referring to the domains of the private and domestic. Home is conceived as a retreat in which to fulfil promises to one’s self. Objects stand in for recalled events or unresolved experiences. They are treated as something exquisite and precious - whether a silver wire work brooch or decorated ceramic dish - or whether from collections of shells, rock samples and botanical specimens, snails, driftwood and pine cones, lace, cloth, wool and teeth.
The collection itself is part of a search for missing objects that form a discourse on loss, a reconstruction of personal history by a mapping of traces from things and events from childhood to the present day. The opening of a pine cone signifies an association with outstretched hands and open mouths and evokes a plea for nourishment. Lace traditionally seen as a sign of modesty is both fragile and ultimately revealing. A snail’s shell is a burden but also a home, a retreat and a place to escape into. The isolation of these objects as fragments extracted from everyday living makes them strange. The drawings are stilled moments of contemplation. This archaeology of the self pulls the viewer into their own reverie of associations.
