Dendrites (2016-2019)

Taoism holds that the fundamental truths of life come from direct experience and cannot be expressed in language. Meaning is attained through action not through speech. This goes against the western way of thinking which considers meaning to arrive through direct and systematic inquiry.

These works are a bridge between these two systems of thought. In one sense, they are momentary action, formed by layering tempera on paper and scraping it off in a quick and single movement. However, the tool with which this is done is a rubber block that has been deliberately carved and formed over many days.

Each work is unique. There are no prints of these pieces. Each is named after the chemical compounds of the colours of which they are constituted. 

Each has a different passage from the Tao Te Ching on its reverse.