Abstraction gives form to the nebulous.

I try to fuse together ideas, knowledge, associations and reflections - my abstraction is intellectual, emotional, residual. I find that a personal, conceptual space must be inhabited so that work can be constructed from it. I aim to preserve my ideas as they transition from impulse into material form.

My practice results in works of geometric abstraction and electronic sound. By creating work in both formats, I aim to understand what they are and how they relate to each other.

The geometric abstraction that I make has always been in a state of change. Currently, rectilinear elements are made from found and painted materials, locked into tessellated configuration through a means of improvised collage. Compositional systems of colours, surfaces and repurposed fabrics are used to develop dynamic scenarios that are both pictorial and concrete - elements shift and define themselves with or against each other to create recursive sensory circuits of perceptual travel. These works exist as both handmade objects as well as propositions of the conceptual space they emanate from. With their dual function, these objects can only be realized through a process of material experimentation and intuitive decision-making, an activity I associate with painting. They can be looked at for what they are as well as looked into for aglimpse of the spaces they might become.

In my electronic soundscapes, I use various synthesizers with experimental intent to produce unrehearsed audio works that evolve over time. The building blocks of synthesis are connected together to create a signal path that starts as raw analogue voltage but is processed in ways that results in live harmonic content. In the medium of sound, signal can be mixed back into its own source to create unstable audio modulations and artefacts containing tactile and visceral qualities.

These soundscapes involve the multi-track recording of individual sonic experiments, made in isolation from each other. The performance of any piece involves the improvised collage of these separate audio tracks, making each iteration unrepeatable. Each soundscape made in this way points to the uniqueness of the situation they are performed in.

The methodology used when working in both formats is similar – both areas of investigation invite the item that’s being engaged with to take on a direction of its own. In my geometric abstraction, large numbers of elements create relationships beyond what is purely deliberate. In my sound work, networks of control voltage can become interrelated to the point where the synthesizer takes on an apparent will of its own. In both situations, the aim is to allow what it is that’s being engaged with to become as much a participant in the process as I am.

Feedback loops and areas of passage emanate from abstract zones of potentiality. Paintings are perceived as if they have sound-like qualities and sound is engaged with in a painterly way.

I think, perhaps, it is possible to paint sound.