Peeling apples oil on canvas – 60cm x 60cm – SOLD
I have a vivid memory from my childhood of my mother peeling apples, trying to slice the peel off all in one go without breaking it. A simple and enjoyable task, and one that was fascinating to me. In the painting there is also the cautionary legacy of childhood, don’t play with grown-up things. Don’t touch the sharp knife. Here the child is intrigued with everything on the table. The apples, the peel, the sharp knife.
The spare room oil on canvas – 46cm x 44.5cm
I enjoyed making this work, I have always liked the fact that the imagination can make a place magical, can bring the sublime from out of the mundane. The work speaks of departure – either on an adventure to a magical land – The Lion the Witch and the wardrobe, being one of my favourite stories as a child – or just for a change of clothes, to put on a new ‘skin’ to go out. Either way, there are two halves to this painting, the empty space of the room and the solid presence of the wardrobe – the before and the after. The shoes ‘stand out’ from the picture surface of emptiness and solidity, these introduce possibility.
Currently on sale at www.saatchiart.com – original and prints