The inspiration to consider these found objects as possible material for my art making process is a different matter. As I intended, I completed the driftwood furniture. When that project was complete, I tipped all the contents of the plastic bags, out onto the studio floor and ended up with a giant pile of trash. I had friends dropping by asking me if I was OK! Then I saw the giant palette emerge, and I began to approach the aggregate of found objects in a fairly pragmatic way.
The first series of work that I created at that time was called Contemporary Landscapes. They looked almost like a cross cut through the soil. I ended up making colorful, almost painterly compositions behind Perspex.
Eventually, I started making more sculptural pieces with some of the larger plastics. Totems and installations made with thongs, coke bottles and all of these things. The process was organic and took on a life of its own. It is a beautiful process working with these materials, where the doors of opportunity and variation are kept wide open.
People would tell me to look at this person’s work or that person’s work. At the time, I decided it was best for me just to continue making my body of work and going into various avenues that it took me and solidified what it was that I was doing with these new materials, instead of looking to other artists for inspiration. This enabled me to create work that was fresh and to make my own mistakes to learn from. My work was not derivative of anyone else’s work. This has always been important for me.
