Warwickshire Open Studios Spring Show, Landmarks, at The Old Waiting Room, Rugby Station

Immure derives from medieval Latin immurare, from in- ‘in’ + murus ‘wall’. It was a term that came to my mind whilst visiting Berlin at the end of last year. I was fascinated by the fact how groups of innocent people were confined and divided against their will by the Wall.

Back in England I thought about these barricades, seen or unseen, between people. To be enclosed within walls; behind barriers; to be shut in; secluded or confined; can be interpreted in many ways; geographically, psychologically, politically, religiously, physically,  biologically, scientifically, philosophically, culturally and so on. One can be forced by others into being fenced off, or unconsciously or consciously put oneself in such environments. 

The English rural landscape is very much divided into segments. This becomes especially clear when seeing England from the air. The countryside is a natural patchwork with its manmade barriers and barricades. 

My sculptures try to visualize blockades and barriers in all kind of ways. They are made of sewn together crumbled pieces of baking parchment. The brown color refers to skin color and to the human aspects of boundaries. The paper pieces appear to be solid but this is deceptive, the material is lightweight and light can be seen coming through it. Some of the sculptures are transparent. The parchment has an inbuilt sculptural essence and is able to create volume because of its waxiness. The loose hanging threads could refer to networks, links between the things that are being kept apart from each other. Eva Hesse was a major influence in my practice, especially her use of materials and the repetitiveness nature of the work. The Arte Povera movement also inspires me because of the artists' use of non-preciousness materials and found objects. The paper sculptures are loosely held up by fence poles which are set in blocks of cement which creates a sense of architecture.

Regeneration exhibition at The ArtistsWorkhouse, Studley

Sculpture: Embryonic Entropy.

Materials: cement, marble, wood, spray paint