Over the past few years I have worked with the idea of human displacement and this latest body of work continues to explore my feelings on this global disaster.
Working in direct plaster allows for the raw, spontaneous expression of the emotions I want to convey, and hopefully helps to illicit a response from the viewer on a visceral level.
The form of the singular, detached human figure speaks to me, allowing for a connection however fleeting.
For many years I have held an interest in the complexity of the Middle East - its culture, people, geopolitics - and in recent times, I have focused my creative attention on the harsh reality that Palestinians face every single day.
This current exhibition of sculptural objects develops the theme of Home Land, my 2016 show that explored the dichotomy facing Palestinian families in the West Bank: that of being both locked in to an oppressive life under occupation, and locked out of home, land and a normal life.
For me, each object holds a story that cannot be seen, but imagined.
Dimensions 175 x 125 x 90 mm
165 x 95 x 80 mm
275 x 220 mm framed
350 x 50 mm framed
80 x 120 x 100 mm
145 x 70 x 70 mm
165 x 195 x 110 mm
100 x 80 x 100 mm
160 x 70 x 80 mm
200 x 95 x 95 mm
130 x 330 x 25 mm
145 x 75 x 25 mm
140 x 75 x 80 mm
In 1948, thousands of Palestinian families fled for fear of their lives or were expelled from their homes and their historic land of Palestine. Many left with the key to their home in the vain hope of returning.
Today the key is a global symbol of hope for those in the diaspora and the millions still suffering in the occupied territories.
In these works, I have attempted to express the concept of families living with the dichotomy of being locked in and locked out - of home, land and a normal life.
Materials include: wood, locks, keys, medium, metal, wire, fabric, paper, acrylic tint
19 x 11.7 x 6.5 cm
20.5 x 8.3 x 9 cm
25.5 x 11 x 9.5 cm
12.5 x 24.5 x 4.5 cm
14.5 x 21 x 5.5 cm
17.5 x 10.5 x 11 cm
23.5 x 15 x 5.5 cm
11 x 14 x 14 cm
16 x 9 x 10 cm
25.5 x 11 x 9.5 cm
17 x 11.5 x 11 cm
23.5 x 15 x 5.5 cm
Think of human habitats climbing up hillsides in Brazilian favelas, spreading across the stony ground of Iran, in Tibetan hill-towns or on the backstreets of Hanoi.
I saw these houses and other structures as a random set of shapes that then gravitated towards each other to create an organic structure. The resulting assemblage sculptures have their own unique life and personality.
130 x 100 x 85 mm
140 x 80 x 90 mm
240 x 125 x 95 mm
155 x 58 x 55 mm
185 x 120 x 105 mm
240 x 125 x 105 mm
200 x 125 x 130 mm
210 x 80 x 80 mm
230 x 65 x 65 mm
