Author Description

This catalogue contains a series of paintings inspired by the stations of the cross. They follow the conceptual themes of the stations rather than their literal content and draw parallels between the Christian story – particularly the Protestant wilderness myth - and that of the American pioneers, our most recent and accessible story of man being thrown back into nature. The paintings examine the spiritual value increasingly accorded to nature and the wilderness, and the mythology of the frontiersman that has become bound up with it. As the fourteen images develop, they become more and more bleak and the idea of some kind of apocalyptic version of our future return to a wilderness lifestyle becomes central. The series is a thought and feeling experiment – bleak and exhilarating… suggesting the terror when encountering something horrific, and the concurrent brief feeling of appreciation for what we take for granted on a daily basis.