Wound Series
In this series of work, I am working with the concept of injury and healing. What is the nature of a wound? How do we heal? What is the architecture/geometry of repaired skin? What are the colours of injury and healing?
The three large scale encaustic panels describe the way the body deals with trauma: response/reaction/regeneration. The paintings are a combination of beeswax, damar resin and pigment. The application of dozens of translucent layers combined with the process of fusing or melting each layer into the lower layers allows me to deliberately bury or expose elements within each painting. The layering of pigment and wax is at the same time hiding, preserving and exposing areas in the work in the same way that the body will hide, expose and preserve a wound.
Regardless of the nature or severity of a wound, the healing process is universal and continuous. In this respect scale becomes an interesting element.
It’s important to me to ask questions of my work. The ideas/question/metaphor is the seed, the point of departure. After that, the work itself becomes it’s own reason and meaning.
The first three works were shown at Toi Pōneke Gallery in an exhibition entitled Call and Response in 2007.
