ARTIST STATEMENT
WHERE BIRDS CAST SHADOWS
My work explores how inner dialogues are represented through nature. The environment has another form of communication happening, which we only get to experience above the surface. The then and now of birth and death, life and grief, all happening in front of us outside of our own existence.
‘Where Birds Cast Shadows’ comes from years of experimenting with materials that allowed bleed through from on the opposite side of the paper and incorporating those marks into the work. It was a process I fell in love with while creating sketches for ‘Songs of Sea’. The ink on the reverse side had its own narrative; the unknown of what was being created was something I wanted to explore more deeply.
I spent most of this year sketching in black ink, looking for lines and marks that could lead to something instinctive. I also began researching many Japanese scrolls and loved the way the faded artwork had,
over time, become its own narrative.
Fiona paints instinctively using abstract marks to create pieces saturated with colour-themed memories and internal dialogues. Her latest series 'Where Birds Cast Shadows' uses both sides of burlap, letting the paints, inks or oils seep through the weave turning the surface into a space representing the past and present.
