Urban Aesthetic is principally about physical history, which is explored through geometric, three-dimensional artworks that are made from collage material, and occasionally paint and inks.
Urban Aesthetic as an artistic concept began in 2007 when I created my first two Urban Aesthetic paintings; it wasn’t my intention to create something so abstract. I was working on a large-scale collage with painted vertical and horizontal lines, but I became frustrated with it and began stripping back the collage and paint which revealed something quite different that was visually very satisfying to me. Geometric patterns have played a part in my artistic practice since I was a teen and to see the horizontal and vertical lines revealed in such a way was fascinating; depending on the thickness of paint or strength of the glue, certain sections lifted away to reveal hidden elements while others remained – it was like excavating my art and revealing it’s history. I began to play with colour compositions, applying colour design theory to bring out three dimensional elements within the work, and from this Urban Aesthetic was born.
Over the years I have played with variations, exploring pieces in pure colour and others solely with collage but the horizontal and vertical elements have always remained, as has the subject of history.
URBAN AESTHETIC (SERIES 4)
Urban Aesthetic (series four) focuses largely on philosophical and aesthetic concepts. I have embraced colour theory and explored classical and pulp literature, comic books, and philosophy to create a series of bold, three-dimensional paintings.
In this series you will find collaged texts juxtaposed within painted compositions, each designed to complement or contrast the collaged material. Colour has been used to provide a visual language to accompany the printed text, and, in some cases, other collaged elements have been added to further illustrate the subject of the text.
