“These characters are in my head and I want them outta there” – George Condo

My characters come together through a series of taking bits and scraps of material retrieved from the bin of “unsuccessfuls” and placing them here and there, this way and that, and getting a feel for the meaning implied. I start seeing a relationship between shapes and eventually they come together and ideas appear.

I don’t work from preconceived ideas. I work fast and intuitively to stay as far away from logic as possible. If rational thought interferes, the process becomes stalled. As I “map around” the composition I allow forms to grow out of themselves and expand and evolve. Its a process of redefining what I have started with as I construct the image based on what the preceding scrap piece tells me.

Part-human and part animal images morph with gaping toothy, sharp jaws, bulgy eyes and metallic bits and parts on layers of colour and texture. The images hover and appear to float in a mass of white. I want to depict personalities on top of these characters. Its about being reconstructive with deconstructed (torn apart) past works creating new inter-relationships of shape, texture, colour and line together in a single character.

It is this openness and freedom of discovery as I manipulate what I have that keeps the image fresh, real and unexpected. This is the aesthetic I strive for.