Woods (2016 - 2020)
The beech woods that surround my studio are ancient and dense in parts. Much of this work is a response to the psychological process of walking through the green cathedral: the soft floor carved into intricate shapes by the desire paths of muntjac deer, the smell of bracken and the nests of red kites swaying in the treetops. The secrets and myths of the woods are deep in the psyche of our culture, fairy tales and a sense of menace and safety pervade. The seasons are powerfully enacted through the woods, symbols such as bluebells and the heaviness of the canopy above are measures of time passing, year after year.
Additionally in the Chilterns, the woods have an deep sociological importance. They were a source of work - woodturners lived and worked amongst the trees, the chair legs and spokes produced were sold to factories in the fast growing town of High Wycombe. The beech woods were key to the livelihood of hundreds of families and the burgeoning chair industry gave rise to an extraordinarily rich period of furniture design, another area of interest for me (see the Chairs project).
Over the years, this is a subject to which I have returned compulsively. I have produced a series of reduction linoprints, and paintings on canvas, made in response to my immersion in this environment.
