Artist Statement
All of the wood I use is at least second hand, if not third or fourth! Its journey from tree to door/window frame/chest is mapped out on the surface. The accumulation of surface markings; scratches, missing locks or hinges, layers of paint, together with the bleaching of sunlight and mellowing of oxidisation, all bear witness to this. Behind all of this evidence of human traffic is the familiar contours of the timber itself, historically our primary building and construction material.
I rake about in skips, fly tipping sites, old farm buildings and abandoned sheds to find what I am looking for. Sometimes I reluctantly have to buy wood in the form of old furniture breakers! Generally, the more discarded and humble the better.
Selected timber is spliced to a quarter of an inch and applied to a composite backing. The finished piece is an edited composition of these disparate fragments. Sometimes they are from the same source and sometimes they are only related formally.
If I’m being honest, I never consciously had environmental issues at the forefront of what motivated me to do these pieces. However, looking back over the 30 years or so that I have been producing, it’s clearly been a major element behind the work.
Education
- 1986-90 St Andrews University (MA Philosophy and Art History)
- 1980-86 Mackie Academy, Stonehaven
Awards
- 2016 Fine Art Award, Royal Glasgow Institute
- 2016 Gordon Smith Award Finalist, Dovecot Studios
- 2011 Open Eye Gallery Award, Visual Arts Scotland, RSA
- 2007 The Applied Arts Prize, Visual Arts Scotland, RSA
- 2005 The Flora Wood Award, Visual Arts Scotland, RSA