Artist Statement:

My current work incorporates textile patterns and photographs of figures in patterned garb which act as camouflage to hide and protect the body. The patterned worlds I am creating have a vulnerable aspect, in that, if the figure shifts out of position, one pattern could overlap onto another, leaving the body exposed. In this sense, the body is locked into place in order to 'survive'. The idea that pattern can have this effect, and leave clothing to obliterate an environment, is quirky and humorous, but it is also psychologically charged, dealing with issues about control, power, entrapment and escape.

I have recently begun incorporating rubber stamp ink images into a series of works called flimflams. Textile pattern is a central component, but acts as a more incongruous juxtaposition alongside the rubber stamp images. These pieces move further into the realm of fantasy and absurdity than before. The stamps are carefully selected to create a sequence of images that are unrestrained by a pictorial reality, but structured around the chosen patterns. Furthermore, the stamp images are essential to these works because they display a more graphically mechanical component, a visual language that differs greatly from the hand-painted pattern.