Grasping I & II

2018
Finger Painted Acrylic on Paper
2 x 110cm x 150cm

Created in the lead up to my artwork ‘i carry you with me‘ (2018), ‘Grasping I & II’ attempted to tackle similar themes, but through a different approach.

Painted entirely with my hands, these pieces allowed me a highly tactile and primal access point to process my sense of powerlessness, homesickness and grief somatically. At almost 1 metre by 1.5 metres in size each, the large format was freeing for me, enabling me to mark-make expressively for ‘Grasping I‘ with my palm and fingers.

‘Grasping II’ in particular used words as marks, layering my thoughts, journal extracts and conversations I had had with others during the entire period of processing. Displayed as a diptych, these works represent an attempt to – quite literally – grasp at the heart of the issue.