Papered Over No. 1
Acquired by Freshfields in June 2024
Selected for the 2023-2024 Freshfields exhibition of artworks on paper
100 Bishopsgate EC2P 2SR
Papered Over No. 1 was on show in this prestigious in-house exhibition at the London headquarters of the international law firm Freshfields, with 90 works of art on display for twelve months over eleven working floors. The exhibition is organised by the specialist art consultancy Art Acumen, who work with private collectors and corporate clients to curate collections and stage exhibitions.
No. 1 was one of two new large monochrome drawings featured in my solo exhibition 'Pale Grey Castle' at The Old Court artspace, Windsor in the summer of 2020. It marked the beginning of a new direction for my art.
I had been looking for a way to combine my love of layers, grid structure, mark-making and patterns. As I cast an eye around the studio for the paper best suited to this project, I remembered my stash of uncut A1 litho-printed pages from my Windsor Emporium Sketchbook.
In 2013 I had commissioned Vision Litho to design and produce The Windsor Emporium Sketchbook, a small limited edition book of drawings I had made over the course of a year under the chandeliers of Windsor's historic Guildhall. My subjects were the visitors and vendors of the Windsor Emporium, a monthly artist-and-artisan fair featuring handmade and collectible goods. Thus began my habit of returning to the same location, month after to month, to draw for hours at a time.
Using the surplus printed sheets from the Windsor Emporium Sketchbook project, I cover a page with marks in ink and pencil so that all that remains of the printed imagery is an impression of something more under the surface. It's a time consuming process, and as the new drawing grows and covers the older sketches, I think about past and present, and the way all that has gone before influences what we do today.
Original
Ink, pencil and charcoal on litho-printed paper
50cm x 52.5cm
