ARTIST STATEMENT
Surrealism is about exploring the subconscious, learning about the peculiar reality inside your head. Inspired by surrealist painters Max Ernst, James Guppy, and James Gleeson, the work could be considered a reflection of my soul and how I love to create weird and slightly nightmarish creatures, but it’s also an extension of my reality. Whenever I see a plant growing from a crack in the pavement or brick wall, it brings me joy and an existential crisis. A reminder that nature will always do its own thing, no matter how hard humans try to tame it.
ARTWORK PROCESS
Researching crucial aspects of Surrealism such as automatism, ‘uncanny valley’, and subconscious through artists Ernst, Guppy, and Gleeson, the piece is inspired from an old drawing of flowers with eyes as well as deserted industrial settings reclaimed by nature. I wanted to create something that resembles my own personal perspective of the world, how the idea of the peculiar and unusual piques my interest in both reality and my subconscious. The process was inherently experimental, utilising found materials of fabric, wood, and pipes in combination with developing sewing, woodworking, and painting techniques to produce a three-dimensional sculpture with multi-directional
