‘Poo ying nine’ – 2004

“To get to this point I have to start with something that appears very simple, not loaded. Then there is room for something else to happen.”

So exactly how do you manipulate your images?
It’s always changing, because I’m not really sure what I’m doing. The funny thing is, sometimes even I can’t reproduce a certain result that I find promising.

Sounds like you are being evasive.
No, I really do have trouble recreating things sometimes. Eventually I realise there is no point in forcing the issue and take another direction entirely.

It is a bit unpredictable then?
Oh definitely, predictable is never interesting. I will re-construct and manipulate the image until a significant distance from the photographic original has been achieved.

Looking at some of the final pieces of work, it is hard to see any residual link with the original photograph.
The link is not important. The finished work has to ultimately be able to stand up by its self, without any reference to previous incarnations. I don’t want it to get into A/B comparisons. It would be interesting perhaps but it would also distract from the finished work. This is what they look like, this is their final form.

There seems to be something going on, even though it is very hard to read. What is the framework in this case?
Well, I am intrigued by people engaged in the process of what at first appears to be a simple task; going somewhere. That is my starting point.

All that has happened and what will soon take place, is channelled through this innocent moment.
Stripped of unnecessary detail and identity, processed and mutated, they engage in some sort of activity the purpose of which is not immediately clear. I’d say this was a distillation of an archetypal moment. To get to this point I have to start with something that appears very simple, not loaded. Then there is room for something else to happen.

‘Eyes Above Salt Pillow’ -2004