“As the title suggests this exhibition has been inspired by SIGNS, WANDERS & WORDS. I have a long held fascination and curiosity about what it is to be human. Examining this through a filter of signs, wanders and words has been a way for me to explore this more fully. It is the philosophy behind the day to day. What is it to be alive? To live, die, lose, dream, create, fall down and start again? What has changed over the centuries and what hasn’t?

The signs in the exhibition title is in reference to how we navigate the unknown. This having changed and varied so much over time and being subject to various cultural and individual idiosyncrasies, with the reliance on and influence of religion, science and the esoteric ever interchanging. Yet fundamentally it still underpins much of our individual operating systems, whether that be consciously or not. Mythology, fantasy, literature, superstition, storytelling, colours, symbols, the planets, the sun, moon and stars, architecture, ancient texts, geometry, portals, parallel universes, utopian worlds, fate, luck, serendipity, chaos and order. All historically and presently used as and embedded with signs, indicators, markers, guide posts, cautionary tales and ways to garner the wisdom of the old to assist us in moving forward. 

Having grown up a minister’s daughter, the use of such signs to shape thinking and decision making was fundamental in my upbringing, these signs were strictly biblically based, but even as a child it was something I often considered with a broad outsiders eye. Not taking things simply at face value. I guess this is where my initial curiosity and this analytical approach to signs began.

The wanders are the physical exposure to contrasting places and ways of living. Travel and exposure to a variety of ways of living and perceiving the world challenge all that exists in oneself. You can’t help but acknowledge that your own way of life and reality has been built on a cultural construct of what your own society has agreed to be the norm. This has always resulted in my looking deeply at my own life and considering where there may be hypocrisy and conflicts of interest. Wandering can be a short cut for an expanded view of others and yourself and subsequent personal growth.

Last, but not least are the words, I see words as the most powerful tools in the universe. They create the narrative for the signs and they are the building blocks for all things we see brought to life in our material world. Many of my ideas are formed first in words and they underpin much of my work. Other people’s words are also a way of travelling without moving, of being transported into other perspectives, places and times without going anywhere.

Art in its many forms can help us feel the full gamut of our emotions and connect us to parts of ourselves that we may find hard to access. 

This work is intended to be immersive, joyful and thought provoking, and for you to consider the impact of the SIGNS, WANDERS & WORDS within your own life experience."