This body of work began with a site specific exploration of space. I became intrigued by this type of work because it meant that I was not confined to the studio wall or canvas thus imposing fewer restraints on the creative process. Each work is an experiment, I am not interested in creating projects that illustrate and define. Instead, rather than achieving a finished, self-explanatory work, the installation and the surrounding environment allows the imagery to subversively infiltrate the various layers of ones thought process. I manipulated the landscape by integrating mirrors into the earth at my chosen site. This is reminiscent of land art, most notably Robert Smithson’s Incidents of Mirror-travel in the Yucatan (1969). Smithson disrupted the earth and used mirrors to create a fragmentation of space. My own work focuses on integration and unison of space. Creating a new space in which there is a harmonious transition from one space to the next. Upon creating these works I was constantly aware of a desire to create a space that entices the viewer to question its presence. The mirror itself is not subject to duration because it is an on-going abstraction which is always available and timeless. The reflections on the other hand are fleeting instances that evade measure. The provisional structure of the space’s usage accentuates the temporal, the passing of time, the unfixed qualities within the work, the on-going abstraction. There is potential for change and emergence. The unfixed qualities within the work are capable of assuming different identities.  A liminal space between abstraction and figuration is evident; the mirror and the environments solid state in contrast with the ever changing reflection. In relation to my studio work, finding this space between abstraction and figuration is key to my interests in paint as a material substance.

It proved difficult to photograph these site specific works as lighting conditions were a technical factor beyond my control. Achieving the desired effect; integration into the landscape, became a process of trial and error. It was necessary to photograph the installation without casting glare from the suns light as I wanted the abstract qualities presented in the reflections to be visible. This would heighten the relations between place, time and space evident throughout my artistic deliberations.

While not paintings themselves, these works are about Paintings, taking a position both inside and outside the tradition. In the sense that I am taking a surface, in this case the earth rather than the canvas and manipulating it in order to create an image. Instead of pigment, I am painting with light.