Moments

I was walking along the country road where I live when I found this piece of rope lying on the road.

Normally it would be considered an unassuming piece of rubbish, something discarded and overlooked, but to me it held an unexplained beauty.

It made me stop in my tracks, pulled me into the present moment, made me forget the chattering in my mind and I just stood there taking in its beauty, the colours, the strands intertwined etc.

This made me realise just how much we can be conditioned by beauty ideals and prescribed value of objects. How something like this rope would not be spared a second glance as it is immediately classed as rubbish.

Yet, in taking a closer look it holds its own beauty. It made me think about time, decay and value. This rope has a history, it was once a useful object to somebody, one could imagine all the things it was used for, the stories it could tell.

By painting it, I feel I am giving it back its value, or at least giving it the value it has for me. An unexpected beauty that pulled me into the present, even if just for a moment. Like all of us it has a story, and often in our stories we find our true values.

Lately my work has simplified. I am not chasing a particular concept. I don’t want to construct my work around a predetermined idea or statement. It has become more organic. Picking up moments that life offers. Seeing beauty and value in things that would otherwise be overlooked. Little things that momentarily pull me into the present and away from the constraints of an ever chattering mind.