The series Brighton & Hove Nightscapes, (Seawhites compressed charcoal on cartridge paper) has emerged since 2019, when I was diagnosed with a debilitating illness which has left me reliant on Universal Credit for income and dramatically restricted my ability to walk, let alone travel beyond Hove. My altered circumstances changed both my experience of my environment and the materials I had available to work with as an artist. These nightscapes emerged as a response to these changes in my life and are an exploration of what it is to be in a place but to not have access to that place – to live in a seaside resort but not be able to participate in the activities of that resort, to know life is unfolding in a city but to be outside of that life, to be able to look into the distance but know you do not have the resources to travel even as far as you can see. As such, I’m working against the bright, solid, comfortable prints and paintings I see of Brighton and towards work that captures what it is to experience one of the richest parts of the world without the comfort of financial and physical access, using materials not traditionally associated with representing a resort town.
Metropolis Contemporary Art Gallery 