Paramabodhi

Paramabodhi

My original training and practice was in life painting. It was my father's death in '98 that triggered my interest in still life and resulted in a return to Europe after seven years in the USA. I returned to art school and completed an MA in 2001. It has been said that the objects in still life reflect the customs, ideas and aspirations of the time. They also perhaps reflect religious and philosophical ideas and deal directly with death. Still life involves the juxtaposition of ordinary objects in a spatial field,evoking human presence but actually depicting human absence. My own particular approach is to use apparently simple arrangements of objects such as eggs, shoes or newspaper clippings, on a plinth, on a shelf or on a wall. The use of newspaper clippings provides a very flat spatial field, recalls certain trompe l'oile 17th century still life and deals directly with contemporary issues. The act of painting and therefore sustained concentration brings a degree of focus and depth to what otherwise would be fleeting moments in the press.

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