Lines of Descent exhibition starts

The Lines of Descent exhibition started today at Hamilton House.

The title of the exhibition refers to the method of drawing I have used for the artwork on display. It is an organic process, like doodling. Each line suggests the next. Each line is influenced by that first line. A line of descent exists between the first line and the last line drawn. It is a journey. With some of the artwork the general composition was planned out in advance through sketches, with other artwork the process and composition were entirely organic.

I am interested in exploring the boundaries between beauty and ugliness. When does beauty tip over into ugliness? I use methods that are traditionally synonymous with beauty in art; pattern and symmetry, and then push them through iteration and distortion. I have also made occasional use of compositions from classical art.

Many of the pieces explore machine forms. I am intrigued by the ambiguity of technology as our saviour and our destruction. The technological form has been the poster child for progress since at least the beginning of the 20^th century. It also has a rich tradition within the dystopian future visions of science fiction. Technology is so absolutely human but often disowned as inhuman. It forms are only limited by our imaginations but like a mirror it shows us what is within our imaginations. The beautiful and the ugly. E = mc² becomes the atom bomb.

The exhibition runs from 15th – 26th October.

The private viewing is on Thursday 18th October from 6pm to 8:30pm.