about the work

 

My work deals with visual perception, in particular the idea that we can receive conflicting information from a given visual stimulus. I find the subjectivity of perception fascinating. The accretion of experiences, and memories of those experiences, modify and define how we interpret the world around us: The inevitable layering of one experience, memory upon another also effects how and what one sees.

Change through time is also an ongoing concern in my practice. I am interested in the way buildings, objects, faces and bodies, for example, weather. These actions of 'wear and tear', give things a resonance that 'the new' lacks. I try to communicate this quality in my work.

This has a connection to my interest in geology, and the ever changing landscape. Many of the motifs found in my paintings and drawings are distilled and abstracted from various forms and patterns encountered on regular walks in the countryside; the textures and striations found on tree bark and in furrowed fields, the movement of water in a stream...

My work is also informed by my reading in anthropology, in particular on tribal societies and systems of belief. I also have an interest in sacred architecture and geometry, stemming from having lived in Southern Spain and Sicily for some years, where the influence of the Moors is still so apparent.

 

All images and content of this website are Copyright © 2003 - 2008 Tom Cartmill. All rights reserved.