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...And After:

A two-person exhibition at the Constantine Gallery, University of Teeside to open a discussion about the influence of dynamic and violent climates.

The painter Lesley Hicks and I were invited to exhibit drawings and paintings that focused on, and made a comparison of, two landscapes that had been devastated by natural forces. Hick’s drawings were produced in responses to the volcanically eroded landscapes found in Iceland. My paintings responded to the devastated landscape of Kesennuma-shi, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. This port city was devastated by the tsunami that occurred on the 11th of March 2011, causing 2000 people to loose their lives in an instant. Field research involved visiting Kesennuma to make a visual record using photography, drawings and written observations. After returning to England I produced sixteen paintings in response to my visit. The paintings displayed a catastrophic and apocalyptic landscapes violently affected by the tsunami waves and the subsequent fire. I attempt to convey a sense of implosion as well as explosion; the destruction was not only directly caused by the extreme force of the tsunami, but also other forces that were triggered by it, particularly fire. The town had oil refinery buildings near the enormous fish market area and this caused a massive conflagration.

During the exhibition, visitors were encouraged to make folded origami cranes that were later taken to the town of Kesennuma, as a gesture of compassion and a sharing of grief. As much as the exhibition was a process of mourning, it also encouraged visitors to think about our relationship to nature as a living and dynamic force as opposed to a force that is static and always controllable.