Using the concept of walking, taking a line for a walk around the body, resulting in pieces of work which are impressions of these body walks. Canvas strips painted black are 'walked' over the entire surface of the body, which is painted with a white pigment. The black and white provide the highest contrast, giving a clear reading of the surface of the body and the textures of the skin. The abstract compositions are a human cartography, where an abstracted whole is constructed by piecing together parts, using systems similar to those used in mapping the earth.
The pieces are presented as abstract ‘maps’ of the body, the process of walking is translated to wrapping then unwrapping the strips around the body, then of winding and unwinding them to be transported and assembled in the exhibition space. The process mimics a circular walk, and also of the folding and un-folding of maps.
The works make the viewer walk in response to the proportions of the pieces, (the ‘Landscape Walk’ being 12ft long), as well as their surfaces - which give a range of visual readings, up close of the microscopic skin impressions, and from a distance a macroscopic ‘map’ of the body. The process of mapping the body is itself a violation of the body, yet it is also sensitive to the body. It reveals everything, and at the same time it reveals nothing.
The pieces are presented as abstract ‘maps’ of the body, the process of walking is translated to wrapping then unwrapping the strips around the body, then of winding and unwinding them to be transported and assembled in the exhibition space. The process mimics a circular walk, and also of the folding and un-folding of maps.
The works make the viewer walk in response to the proportions of the pieces, (the ‘Landscape Walk’ being 12ft long), as well as their surfaces - which give a range of visual readings, up close of the microscopic skin impressions, and from a distance a macroscopic ‘map’ of the body. The process of mapping the body is itself a violation of the body, yet it is also sensitive to the body. It reveals everything, and at the same time it reveals nothing.