Vidya’s Blog

I had a real sense of boudaries today as I went as part of a writing group from Newport quayside along an industrial corridor bordering the river and out into a wider vista onto the river proper. This is by way of preamble because what I was really struck by was the plethora of boundaries along the way. The brief we were given was one of using close observation and taking field notes. There was no end of corrugated iron fencing or wire mesh. I had the strong desire to cross boundaries particularly around the boatyards where there were interesting potential finds in terms of odd bits of wood and general detritus. Writing often makes concrete what for the visual artist can be a bit of a haze. I had a recent comment at my studio from fellow artist and painter Lisa Traxler that the framed work seemed to question rules and boundaries. For me this was significant and today’s trip along the river only serves to highlight this further. With the work that spills on to the frame it’s a kind of bid to extend the boundaries and conversely I also crop certain pieces to impose new boundaries with only a small part of the work on view. The rest is known only to the artist and is a conscious decision on my part. I hope to scale up certain pieces in future. There is also the dimension of the limited edition prints currently in production, which also alter boundaries and perceptions as compared to the originals. Red Tree shown here seems to be questioning boundaries and wrestling with those imposed on it, just as nature has so much to contend with whether it be the man-made environment or the vagaries of the natural world with it’s own inbuilt hostility.