Assemblages are like a 3D collage made by combining different materials into a new unity. The main material is washed up seaweed some is covered in copper or painted or finished in another way. The circle which recurs in much of my work relates to the moon whose gravitational pull influences not only the tides but lots of other aspects of life on earth. The mirror is a way of looking at ourselves and the world around us differently. It is a reminder of human vanity - we put ourselves at the centre of the universe when we are just a part but having a major impact.
In these times of accelerated environmental change, I use art to explore our evolving relationship with the 'world that we are in and that is in us' (A.N.Whitehead, philosopher, 1938).
My work with seaweed is further inspired by the concept 'collaborative survival' proposed by anthropologist, Anna Tsing. It is a persuasive idea which offers positive possibilities for the future of planet earth. How can we find ways of working with the natural world rather than always taking from it?
The idea of human uniqueness is central to western cultures. But suppose the world doesn’t revolve round us humans?
Maybe we’re just part of a network of relationships, between… well, almost anything? That’s the line postmodern guru and scientist, Donna Haraway, has defended for decades.
The collection is called Can We Meet the Universe Halfway? which comes from the title of a book by physicist Karen Barad: Meeting the Universe Halfway - Quantum Physics and the Entanglement of Matter and Meaning (2007).
Why Seaweed?
My work with seaweed is further inspired by the concept 'collaborative survival' proposed by anthropologist, Anna Tsing. It is a persuasive idea which offers positive possibilities for the future of planet earth. How can we find ways of working with the natural world rather than always taking from it?
The idea of human uniqueness is central to western cultures. But suppose the world doesn’t revolve round us humans?
Maybe we’re just part of a network of relationships, between… well, almost anything? That’s the line postmodern guru and scientist, Donna Haraway, has defended for decades.
The collection is called Can We Meet the Universe Halfway? which comes from the title of a book by physicist Karen Barad: Meeting the Universe Halfway - Quantum Physics and the Entanglement of Matter and Meaning (2007).
Why Seaweed?