Original artwork description:

I like the idea of working with slate because of the age and nature of the material. Millions of years ago, movement of the Earth's crust, retreating seas and glaciation pushed mineral deposits collected on ancient sea beds to the Earth's surface where they were eventually quarried by man to provide shelter from the winds and rain.

The slate I use has served this purpose and is eroded and marked by exposure to the elements as well as by man-made pollutants in the atmosphere. I am interested in the journey from the seabed to the quarry, the quarry to the rooftop and the rooftop to the artwork.

In ‘Compass’, I have selected several pieces of discarded slate, washed away the grime collected over the years to reveal the natural texture and colouring and then carefully arranged them together. The circles, representing a universal shape at the heart of our relationship to the world, were scratched into the surface with a sharp point and either enhanced with black oil paint within or without or with white dots. The fractured image of the spoon, a common or garden object, gives a connection with time, past and present and distance, near and far.

The work is varnished to bring out the texture and then finished with a thin black wood edging, ready to hang. 60x88x2cm

Materials used:

Recycled roof slate

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