Rachelle Allen-Sherwood
ARTIST STATEMENT
“Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is opinion”. Democritus
For more than a decade my work has been heavily influenced by the concepts of Motion and Space. From dancing atomic particles to flying patterns of starlings, movement is the underlying thread that links together and defines almost everything in our universe, including human life. Motion is also used in science as a quantifiable way to definne space. My interest began in Japan - where I grew up - where space is commonly viewed as both concrete and abstract, with no paradoxical split between the two dualities.. For example in the Japanese tea ceremony, the surroundings are as important to the experience as tea drinking ritual. Because of this refreshingly integrated way of seeing, the usuall dualities between subject / object; personal / universal and microcosm / macrocosm are transcended. Briefly. It is this interval space I continue to invstigate and express through my art and practice.
Using Sumi ink as my main medium, my process refers to Asian calligraphic processes but not the subject matter. The resulting work evolves spontaneously and the mark making is intuitive. Images emerge in a aleatorical fashion and at times seem to take on their own life.
My influences are varied, including artists Cy Twombley, John Cage, Leonardo da Vinci, Brice Marden, Isamu Noguchi, GUTAI : architects Peter Zumthor, Kengo Kuma, Louis Kahn; Japanese Noh Theatre; Baroque music, Eminem, Beck and Les Twins
Image: Artist at work Photo Michael Grey-Hamilton 2012
