These paintings are made with the intention that they might stimulate new thoughts, encourage us to re-examine our beliefs, or simply act as a gentle reminder. The paintings reveal strangely constructed interiors with views ranging from partially enclosed spaces and neglected attics to rooms that are spacious, stylish, and remarkably furnished. The use of colour is both intuitive and ideological, and a range of idiosyncratic colour combinations has developed. The formal rules of perspective no longer apply, altering often and inexplicably. The painting plane is often split or has slipped. Objects appear upside down or occasionally float in organised space. Substance becomes insubstantial. Despite these diverse pictorial elements, the overall impression of these interiors is not one of chaos, but of an underlying order, perhaps reflecting nature's profound tendency towards an organised and self-regulating equilibrium. The compositional dynamic of each painting is underpinned by a conscious desire to balance contrasting elements - saturated areas of flat colour with graduated areas, hard edges with soft dissolves, light with shade, clutter with calm. By placing the viewpoint firmly within each interior the compositional dynamics are controlled not only within the restricted space, but also outside that space to show what lies beyond, thereby creating an charged environment. Exterior views, often portrayed in monochrome to reflect images produced by the media, evoke an uncertain, bizarre or threatening world, emphasising our natural inclination to retreat to the relative safety of whatever it is that we call home.
Libby Urquhart (catalogue excerpt)
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