Residency at Guanlan International Printmaking Base, China

While moments in time pass, sometimes faster than one can take the time to appreciate them, there is a great significance of place in preserving memories. I believe that history is absorbed by its landscape and becomes an intrinsic part of that land. In some ways, our past experiences continue to exist forever in the spaces they once occupied. I attempt to capture within my images this ephemeral connection between experience, time and space, and allow the viewer to reflect upon their own history and connection to childhood and place.

The various characters used within my works are taken from a cast of created identities, who I often depict. They were first used to represent the passing of my childhood, depicted as a parade of circus performers departing through familiar landscapes and into the distance. As I have come to realise that these aspects of myself still exist, my characters now travel with me throughout life, exploring both new and familiar landscapes, and contemplating their existence within these places in time.

These current works were created over two artist-in-residency periods at Guanlan International Printmaking Base in Shenzhen, China, in 2016 and 2017. The images explore the new surroundings that became my home for those brief moments in time. By placing my characters within this new and curious setting, they explore the landscape, perhaps with a deeper contemplation and romance than they might have had exploring a more familiar place. As they occupy these spaces, they consider the mystery of all that has been there before them, and all that is still to come. They view the landscape both from the perspective of a child, contemplative, but full of wonder and fascination, as well as from the more sombre perspective of an adult, coming to see the world as it really is.