Yellow Ladder

Yesterday we hung my exhibition at the Sir Peter Blake Gallery on Dartford. It was a busy, enjoyable day and I'm delighted to see everything up as planned.

There's a text that accompanies the exhibition, as follows:

If two paths meet

The work in this exhibition started from a series of walks on Swanscombe Peninsula. The Peninsula, between Dartford and Gravesend, is formed by one of the many bends in the River Thames as it heads towards sea. Walking down from the station you pass through a gate then have the choice of two paths which both disappear into a mass of trees and bushes. The artist uses this physical feature as the name of the exhibition because as well as being a significant place, it signifies a link between the walks and the work made back in the studio.

The pinhole photographs are taken with a wooden camera and colour film. It’s a slow process. An exposure can last ten minutes or more. They are digitally printed onto cotton rag paper.

While walking on the Peninsula he picked up bits of debris and rubbish. The Peninsula has seen many industrial and agricultural uses over the centuries and more recently has been used for landfill so there’s lots to find. In the studio he drew round the objects as an experimental process to produce new forms and ideas. Previously he’d been making still life drawings but now this new method took over. Following this technique of tracing outlines led to a new field of inquiry and the drawings in the exhibition are the result.