This ongoing series has formed the basis of the painting part of my art practice since 1996. The Interconnections paintings and more recent metal casts have never been exhibited publicly and have been made almost exclusively for my own personal pleasure. Looking like maps or organic maze-like structures, the paintings are created from a combination of chance and order – chance, in how the unique pattern of interconnections/reticulations forms in the paint and order, in the control that is responsible for how deep, even and colourful they form. A special paint in used and then a varnish with dyes infused into it are applied to the paint surface. To start with it was just the patterns that were recorded. Then I started, around 1999, to combine my conceptual photography with my painting by embedding mini photographic 'skull portraits' into the paint. I am currently exploring and developing ways to control the reticulations of paint to present each subject's aura relative to their depth of presence...! In my view these hybrids are more effective portraits as they present not just the subject but their relationship to others (isnt that how we often define ourselves?). The works can been seen on different levels – from an immediate aesthetic level to the more profound level as a metaphor for how human beings live their lives: we can exert a certain amount of control over our individual ‘life-journeys’ but not complete control over how our destiny will unfold. The notion of ‘Interconnectivity’ is central to what these works are about – each part is in some way related to the whole, each part in some way represents the whole. Perhaps it is possible to understand something of the macro by exploring the micro? The works are inspired primarily by Nature and also by Art. They reveal a fascination with the mystery of how life unfolds and art’s role in the establishment of one’s own destiny. I see them as part of the tradition of Aboriginal Painting or ancient cave painting... Almost every Interconnections Painting is on aluminium sheet and is painted on the floor. The castings have been produced to emphasize the 3D sculptural quality of the works. |