These two works explore ideas of paradise, longing, loss and travel. One enchanted garden is made of ice and the other is a now a paradise lost to us as we are advised to 'stay at home'.
'Ice Garden: 24 hours of sunshine', 12 lithographs, 8 colours, 40 x 60 cm each, as a room installation, 2010.
Antarctica is as much an imagined place as a real one. This lithographic installation explores the imagined sensation of spending summer in Antarctica where the garden is of ice and the sun never sets. It is a twelve-part lithographic opus with each lithograph representing 2-hours of time (sunshine). The works are installed in a circle at eye level so the viewer can stand in the middle. I want to give the viewer the chance to see the 360-degree horizon and to experience wonder at the sensation of being in an icy place where the sun never sets. Due to climate change, Antarctica is a threatened environment. And like the Arctic, it is a place which is experiencing rapid environmental change. A chance to meditate on this fact is another thought behind this work.
`Paradise Turned', Video Installation for screen or Tablet, 4.57Min, 2020.
In the COVID world, we are constantly reminded that 'paradise' is no longer a 'quick trip' away. And at the same time, our insistent wish to travel is contrasted with growing concern for the environmental damage our regular travel brings with it. 'Paradise Turned' is a video installation exploring the idea of paradise and travel. The palm tree motif is short-hand for paradise. This is a looped video with a muffled soundtrack combines a sense of anticipation with a feeling of deja vu and dreaming. It can be watched on an intimate screen/tablet or be projected. Watching it gives us time to meditate on the dilemma of our wish to explore new places contrasted with our desire for a cleaner world.
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