My work has evolved through an investigation into contemporary societies and the concept that modern civilisations have transitioned from a ‘solid’ to ‘liquid’ modernity. This means that we no longer seek a well-ordered world of stable structures but desire a world in which change, and uncertainty is the only certainty. In my paintings I attempt to expose that this thread of uncertainty has always been an undercurrent and that mankind has never been fully comfortable with modernity. This is evidenced by the conflicting ideologies that have existed throughout the entirety of modernism. Westernisation promotes that through globalisation, capitalism and human progress we will gain utopia through technological, scientific and philosophical advancements. However, artists, social movements and subcultures have always exposed their dissatisfaction with modern ideologies and offer alternative concepts to human existence.
This has led me to identify and experiment with a variety of painting processes that have been instrumental and pivotal to the historical development of modern painting. This has resulted in abstract paintings that for me chronicle modernity throughout its history from its birth in industrialisation to present day hyperconnectivity. It is important that I do not try and control everything in my paintings, changeability, unpredictability and experimentation are the values associated with liquid modernity and this is what I aim to express. I think this is fitting in a world where we can no longer tolerate anything that lasts. Novelty, momentary impulses, short-term perspectives and uncertainties dominate attitudes and outlooks. Today, being modern means to compulsively reinvent modernism with no fixed destination in sight and none desired.
