In future I plan to bring my art and urban communication practices together more directly.
Through my work in Bankside and London Bridge I have built up some knowledge of an historic city centre quarter in transition. Communicating that change through words and photographs, online or in print, is an effective way to reach a lot of people fast. But it is often a means to an end - to convey information that can be seen and then, because it is ubiquitous, forgotten. Exploring this process through oil painting invites a more deliberative engagement with the city, inviting, I hope, deeper thought about what is happening around us and bringing a new perspective to the way our surroundings evolve as new structures emerge. And like oil painting it is not just building up but also scraping back: the process of development brings the chance to explore beneath the surface, as the archaeologist's trowel digs into the hidden city to expose a rediscovered past.