During my time living in the rural, north coast of Cornwall, I noticed how the hedgerows would be trimmed back each year. Heavy machinery chews at the new growth and often hacks at older wood, creating shattered, splintered and visceral formations. They generally go unnoticed.

Each year the wounds heal then are hacked back once again, sometimes chewed right back, sometimes lightly wounded, sometimes missed entirely. Some have seen this repeated process for decades, healing and tearing but always surviving.

Here and There – 2018 – graphite on paper – 740×490 mm

Near Orchard – 2018 – graphite on paper – 490×740 mm

The broken and shattered wood is the focus of every piece. They burst from dark, indistinct backgrounds, that can be finely rendered or created using a painterly approach with powdered graphite. Each piece takes between 40-80 hours to complete bringing a sense of drama and permanence to the temporarily mundane.