Between 1989 and 1995 I produced a large number of oil paintings based on an intense contemplative analysis of groups of objects. Many of the paintings and the objects upon which they were based echoed the kinds of objects I’d used in earlier installations and performances (eg. bones, stones, twigs, feathers and potsherds). At the time I wrote the following note: ‘painting is a way of coming into knowledge, making sense, investigating and celebrating the “otherness” of the world — engaging with things outside the “self” — recognising the strangeness of the familiar’.
Working directly from observation was, and is, for me a process of contemplative scrutiny – trying to transcribe sensations into paint with as little distortion or manipulation as possible. In this sense it can be considered as closely related to the practice of zazen – zen meditation.
Some of these works were included in solo exhibitions at Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London, 1993 and The Archaeology of Seeing, at Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter, 1994.
Pots and garden c1995-96 Oil on board 24 x 48 ins
Untitled still-life November 1994 Oil on paper on board 48 x 24 ins
The Uncertainty of Looking July-September 1993 Oil on paper on board 48 x 24 ins
Marabou Place June-September 1993 Oil on paper on board 48 x 36 ins
The Blue Table May 1993 Oil on paper on board 24 x 48 ins
What was it like August-November 1992 Oil on paper on board 48 x 36 ins
Earth Fire Air and Water August-September 1992 Oil on paper on board 36 x 24 ins
Thunderstone and Shell July-August 1992 Oil on paper on board 16 x 22 ins
Rift Valley Vase January-March 1992 Oil on canvas 48 x 36 ins
Of Stones and Stars 1992 Oil on paper on board 46 x 36 ins
Signature of All Things March-July 1992 Oil on canvas 50 x 36 ins
Cupboard vase and shells Dec 1991 Oil on paper on board 43x34ins
The Green Vase March 1991 15 x 20 ins
Kenya I Isiolo Skull Sept 1990 Oil on paper on board 48 x 32 ins
This is one of the first of the still-life series:
A Closer Look Aug 1989 Oil on paper on board 12 x 10 ins
Archaeology of Seeing, Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter. April-May 1994 – exhibition view