A lot of people have asked me to explain my work and the thought processes behind it- which is understandable as I am an abstract painter- so here goes…hope you enjoy it!!!
I grew up in the border town of Newry, Co. Down in the 1970s and 1980s and was always fascinated by the Army Watchtowers which were located along the border and in particular the icon imagery that has been left behind, now that the Watchtowers have been dismantled. In 2019, I was accepted for Drawn from Borders which was part of the Understanding the Decade of Centenaries project in collaboration with Artlink, Donegal, the Nerve Centre and the Tower Museum, Derry supported by the European Union’s Peace IV Programme. This project asked visual artists to look creatively on the events of 100 years ago, borders and Brexit and to generate a creative output in response.
Every day I used to walk past this climbing tower of sorts and it really reminded of the army watchtowers I used to see to as a child when we used to cross the border at Cloughouge Bridge, Newry. It was old, disused and starting to fall down but it was so striking within the landscape- this big metal structure surrounded by the beautiful mountains and fields. I photographed it in every weather and every season and realised that this would be my starting point.
As I always do- before I paint, I experiment with numerous types of media and try and ‘get something down’ to ease myself and my brain into the project. I started off with a few ink and pencil drawings of the ‘tower’ and found myself becoming drawn to the circle. The circle was my response to addressing the surveillance and intrusion aspect of the army and the watchtowers.