“Thanks to my
mother I knew
the dream world
was the only
place to go.”
From Gun Love by Jennifer Lawrence
My work invokes lost memories, remembering and hallucinations. As time passes memories of people known, deteriorate like decaying photographs or mutate into something else.
I use images and objects found in flea markets, car boot sales and charity shops. The images are scanned and then manipulated in Photoshop to produce high contrast multi-layered images. Layers of meaning are built up using a combination of drawings, painting and photography. Variations of printing techniques, cyanotypes, silkscreen, gel plate prints combine to construct a memory dreamscape in 2D and 3D. Emotions are evoked in short films through image, texture and sound.
“The thing that’s tragic about film is that no matter what you do, eventually the photograph itself replaces the memory. I guess there are some parts of yourself that, once they’re gone, you can never get back. Even if you take a picture.”
From The Falconer by Dana Czapnik
The inspiration for my work is my own family but the images I use are of unknown people. The anonymity of the images gives me a freedom to work with them. I find inspiration in images of events common in most people’s lives; mothers with babies, marriages, close friends, family meetings and minor occurrences that appear inconsequential. The objects and photographs appear to be discarded but each one acts as a fragment of a story which builds up to create a picture of a life lived. By immersing myself in the thoughts of another persons memory, I can let my imagination run wild, I’m in control of the recollections. My work allows me to escape the everyday, looking for a fictionalised other place to escape to. I’m putting down markers, leaving a trail, marking my place in personal history, making physical objects that link me to the subconscious world.
Advanced Printmaking + Digital Media: end of year show 