June 2023

My recent series of paintings are nostalgic depictions of everyday places in the UK. The often-forgotten corners, the fleeting spaces we pass through, and the neglected areas ignite my curiosity. Often featured within these places are discarded and abandoned structures left in the landscape that no longer serve their purpose. I am interested in the stories and memories they hold and the new narratives they can start in the mind of the viewer. 

As time distances me from these places, my memories become hazy, giving way to a nostalgic blend where locations merge and intertwine. Thus, my paintings never directly replicate existing landscapes; instead, they piece together fragments to form something new. Drawing from my background in film, I perceive this blending of places as akin to a film set, where an interior seamlessly leads to an exterior shot of an entirely different location. In this way, a new reality takes shape. Each place I combine in a painting holds significance and value, but also moving the artwork beyond traditional notions of landscape painting.

Like film stills the paintings capture a moment in time. What happened here? Is something about to happen? Stillness plays a pivotal role, reflected in the attention to detail I strive to achieve. Devoid of human presence, I aim to evoke a sense of unease within the painting, only the remnants of a bicycle, graffiti, or discarded rubbish may hint at past inhabitancy.

My most recent painting from the series, titled "Looming", depicts two unused gas towers positioned at the end of a walkway. These gas towers were once omnipresent throughout London, constructed from 1813 onwards to store coal gas for household lighting. However, with the discovery of natural gas under the North Sea in 1965 their purpose has become obsolete. Since 2000, they have gradually faced decommissioning and demolition, with only a few spared from fate.
I distinctly recall walking beneath two of these towers daily during my studies, and they have held a place in my heart ever since—just as they have captivated many Londoners. As they have fallen into disuse over the years, various efforts have been made to save them, and indeed some have been repurposed as shopping centres or residential flats. The towers featured in the painting are presently awaiting demolition, standing ominously at the end of the walkway. No longer serving their purpose, they loom over us as their fate looms over them.
It is towards the end of the day, and we are losing the light. We cannot see what is down the steps and beyond the towers, which adds to a sense of unease. On either side of the viewer are high fences, broken and graffitied. A skid mark left by a bike signifies a previous visitor, yet apart from the graffiti and the bent fence rails, there are a few signs of life. Do we stand here and acknowledge their beauty and fall from grace or continue walking forward to discover what lies beyond? Or perhaps slip through the fence and go back the other way?