Beauty is perceived in many ways… that’s the premise of the saying “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, after all. But equally true is that in order to “see” beauty, you first have to “notice” it. I hope that through my art, people will look beyond their everyday surroundings and see the beauty that often goes unnoticed.

For all my adult life, I’ve been fascinated with graffiti, but not just for the artistry in some of it, or for the social aspects or cultural history associated with the act of it. My draw is in how a manmade event (graffiti and abatement) can transcend blight to bring visual interest or even beauty to an otherwise forgettable environment.

My earlier works dealt with graffiti as an ever-changing tableau, which morphed over time through layering of tags, paint-outs, fading, etc. The resulting images represent not only a social dialogue but take on a life of their own as abstract images.

My current work takes the graffiti, and resulting abatement, further by investigating how, as industrial or commercial areas change, buildings change in their applied use – windows are bricked over, doors are moved, and the graffiti becomes part of a rich visual texture. The resulting images are a record of time, use, communication and place.

I hope that my current work helps others to see beyond the obvious signs of abandonment, to see an ever-changing tableau of texture, composition, color and most importantly, beauty.