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WHERE ARE YOU RIGHT NOW? IN CORNWALL, ST. JUST, WHICH FEELS LIKE THE END OF THE WORLD – VERY REMOTE AND VERY WILD.
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WHAT ARE YOU WEARING? BLUE SHIRT, WHITE TROUSERS, BLACK SNEAKERS.
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WHY THIS? THE SKY, THE INFINITE AND THE VOID.
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WHAT'S ESSENTIAL TODAY? LIGHTING A FIRE. THE WEATHER HITS DIFFERENT HERE; IT’S MUCH MORE RAW, POWERFUL AND DIRECT.
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WHAT ISN'T? NOT NEEDING TO NAVIGATE A STRESSFUL COMMUTE.
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WHAT DEFINES YOUR ROUTINE? RUNNING, COFFEE, PAINTING, READING, SLEEPING.
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WHAT BREAKS IT? NATURE: WALKING, SWIMMING, SURFING, GETTING LOST AND INHALING PHYTONCIDES.
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WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON? CURRENTLY, NEW PAINTINGS AND SOME SCULPTURES. IT FEELS SOMEHOW VERY SLOW.
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WHAT ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT? I STARTED READING OUR OAKEN BONES BY MERLIN HANBURY-TENISON. THE FIRST CHAPTER DESCRIBES THE FARM HE GREW UP ON AND TRACES HOW BRITAIN'S FORESTS WERE DRAMATICALLY REDUCED,
ACCELERATING SHARPLY IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY THROUGH WARTIME TIMBER FELLING AND AGRICULTURAL EXPANSION. APPARENTLY, BRITAIN WAS ONCE A RAINFOREST ISLAND, WITH AROUND A FIFTH OF ITS LANDMASS COVERED BY ATLANTIC TEMPERATE RAINFOREST. TODAY, LESS THAN ONE PERCENT REMAINS, MOSTLY IN FRAGMENTS ALONG THE WESTERN COASTS OF SCOTLAND, WALES, DEVON AND CORNWALL.YOU CAN STILL SEE THOSE ANCIENT PLANTS IN MOSSES OR LICHENS OR FERNS WHICH ARE LAYERED OVER EVERYTHING — AND THERE'S SOMETHING EERIE ABOUT IT, A LANDSCAPE THAT TAKES YOU BACK INTO ANOTHER TIME. VERY AUSTERE TOO.
AT THE MOMENT, WILD GARLIC AND BLUEBELLS ARE FLOWERING ALONGSIDE GORSE, WHICH TINTS WHOLE FIELDS YELLOW AGAINST DARK AND PALE GREEN. THESE PLANTS ARE ALSO RELEASING VOLATILE OILS INTO THE AIR — THE SAME CLASS OF COMPOUNDS, PHYTONCIDES, THAT TREES USE AS THEIR CHEMICAL DEFENCE SYSTEM. WHEN WE BREATHE THEM IN, OUR BODIES RESPOND: STRESS HORMONES DROP, AND NATURAL KILLER CELLS — THE IMMUNE SYSTEM'S FRONT LINE AGAINST TUMOURS AND VIRUSES — INCREASE IN NUMBER AND ACTIVITY, WITH EFFECTS THAT CAN PERSIST FOR OVER A MONTH AFTER A SINGLE WALK.I KEEP THINKING ABOUT THIS: THAT THESE ORGANISMS ARE ACTIVE SURVIVORS ACROSS VAST STRETCHES OF TIME, AND THAT THEY ARE COMMUNICATING WITH US WHETHER WE KNOW IT OR NOT, THROUGH BIOCHEMICAL COMMUNICATION. THIS IS A DIFFERENT FORM OF COMMUNICATION BEYOND LANGUAGE AS WE KNOW IT.
ALSO: JADE. THE MINERAL, THE COLOUR. SOMETHING ABOUT IT HAS CAUGHT ME. NOT SURE HOW THIS CAME INTO THE RESEARCH. PROBABLY BECAUSE THE PARTS HERE ARE A FORMER MINING COUNTRY, ALTHOUGH JADE WAS NEVER FOUND HERE.
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WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND WHEN YOU WAKE UP? I AM READY FOR SUMMER.
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WHAT DO YOU NOTICE FIRST IN A SPACE? THE ENERGY, WHICH IS DEFINED BY THE PEOPLE, THE ROOM IN GENERAL, THROUGH ITS SCENT, ITS LIGHT, AND COLOUR.
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WHAT DO YOU IGNORE? CROWDED PLACES.
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WHAT DRAWS YOUR ATTENTION? TRANSCENDENT MOMENTS AND THE RICHNESS OF COLOUR, WHEN SUDDENLY IT GETS VERY QUIET, BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE – A COMFORTING SILENCE – CHEMICALS BETWEEN TWO BODIES THAT INTERACT OR HOW WE INTERACT WITH LARGER ORGANISMS, SUCH AS THE DEPTH OF THE ATLANTIC, THE LUSH GREENS OF SRI LANKA'S FORESTS, THE EERINESS OF CORNISH LANDSCAPES.
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WHAT HOLDS IT? THE FEELINGS OF RICH MOMENTS THAT STAY IN YOUR BODY AND MIND, AND YOU CAN RECALL THEM WHENEVER YOU WANT, WITHOUT BEING IN THOSE PLACES PHYSICALLY.
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WHAT DO YOU RETURN TO? INTUITION
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WHAT DO YOU LEAVE BEHIND? SPECULATION.
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WHAT FEELS FAMILIAR? LOVE.
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WHAT FEELS NEW? FOREST BATHING. I RECENTLY DISCOVERED THIS JAPANESE PRACTICE CALLED SHINRIN-YOKU.
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WHAT FEELS NECESSARY? LIVED EXPERIENCE, THE PHYSICALITY OF PLACES, AND EXPERIENCES. ALSO EXPERIMENTING WITH NEW MATERIALS, HOW THEY INTERACT, HOW THEY SETTLE AND HOW THEY REACT TO EACH OTHER. COMPOUNDS, CODES AND COLOURS.
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WHAT FEELS EXCESSIVE? LONG STUDIO HOURS.
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WHAT INFORMS YOUR DECISIONS? WHEN IN FRONT OF THE CANVAS, IT'S MOSTLY INTUITION. BUT ALSO RESEARCH.
CURRENTLY A LOT OF IT AROUND AI AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF AUTOMATION. I'M INTERESTED IN HOW AI MIGHT INFORM PAINTING PRACTICE, NOT THROUGH IMAGE GENERATION, BUT ON A MORE THEORETICAL LEVEL. WHAT IT MEANS FOR PROCESS, FOR DECISION-MAKING, FOR THE NATURE OF MARK-MAKING ITSELF.
FURTHERMORE, I'M ALSO INCREASINGLY AWARE OF HOW THESE TOOLS ALTER OUR BRAINS AND THOUGHT PATTERNS. WHAT WE RECEIVE THROUGH AI IS SYNTHETIC INFORMATION — A TRAINED PROCESS, HUMAN KNOWLEDGE REINFORCED AND ENCODED INTO A MACHINE, THEN REFLECTED TO US AS SOMETHING THAT FEELS NEUTRAL OR EVEN AUTHORITATIVE. AND YET THE QUESTION THAT KEEPS RETURNING IS: AT WHAT POINT DOES THAT PROCESS TIP INTO SOMETHING ELSE? WHETHER THAT CONSTITUTES SENTIENCE, OR SOMETHING ELSE.
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WHAT CHALLENGES THEM? KAFKA-ESQUE CIRCUMSTANCES. 2-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION.
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WHAT DO YOU TRUST? LOVE.
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WHAT DON’T YOU TRUST? WEATHER IN ENGLAND.
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WHAT’S INSTINCTIVE? TO WAIT FOR SOMETHING TO REVEAL ITSELF RATHER THAN PUSHING IT.
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WHAT’S DELIBERATE? MARKS, ACTIONS, FLUIDITY.
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WHAT’S IMMEDIATE? HUMAN INTERACTION.
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WHAT TAKES TIME? BUILDING UP LAYERS IN THE PAINTINGS. THE SETTLING TAKES A WHILE, DAYS OR SOMETIMES WEEKS. THERE IS TENSION IN THE SURFACE THAT ONLY REVEALS ITSELF OVER TIME.
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WHAT’S PHYSICAL IN WHAT YOU DO? LEAVING THE STUDIO AND GOING RUNNING, ALSO WORKING ON LARGE CANVASES, BECAUSE I WORK ON THE FLOOR, SO I HAD TO FIND WAYS TO MAKE THAT PROCESS HEALTHIER FOR MYSELF.
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WHAT’S MENTAL? CONNECTING DIFFERENT THREADS.
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WHAT’S CHANGING? MY HOME, MY BODY, MY MIND.
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WHAT’S CONSTANT? MY CORE.
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WHAT DO YOU CARRY WITH YOU? MEMORIES.
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WHAT DO YOU LEAVE AT HOME? I AM TRYING – MY PHONE.
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WHAT INFLUENCES YOU WITHOUT YOU REALISING? THE WEATHER, THE ATMOSPHERE, THE SUN.
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WHAT ARE YOU RESISTANT TO? AN OFFICE JOB.
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WHAT ARE YOU OPEN TO? NEW EXPERIENCES.
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WHAT DEFINES PROGRESS FOR YOU? EVERY FORM OF EVOLUTION.
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WHAT DEFINES COMPLETION? THAT’S TOUGH. I ALWAYS GIVE A WORK TIME TO SETTLE AND ALSO MYSELF THE TIME TO THINK IT THROUGH AND WAIT IF SOMETHING COMES UP THAT WOULD NEED CHANGE, OR I FIND MYSELF THINKING ABOUT WHETHER I WOULD BE HAPPY WITH THIS ONE IN THE FUTURE. SOME WORKS ARE ALSO STAYING IN THE ‘IN PROGRESS’ STATE, WHICH IS INTERESTING FOR ME TOO. THEY STILL GET DISPLAYED, BUT FOR ME, THEY ARE UNFINISHED. I THINK THAT FEELING IS WORTH HOLDING AS AN ARTIST AND BEING COMFORTABLE WITH IT.
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WHAT COMES NEXT? SRI LANKA. ANOTHER RESEARCH TRIP AT THE END OF THE YEAR — TO SPEND TIME IN THE RAINFORESTS AND WITH THE FISHING AND SURFING COMMUNITIES ALONG THE COAST. THERE'S A FORM OF OCEANIC KNOWLEDGE THERE THAT I WANT TO GET CLOSER TO.
