Fire

Fire will also appear on at least two of the panels as I will be depicting Grenfell Tower and the Australian and Californian fires. It has been such a struggle to find appropriate methods and the first attempts (many of them!) were far too decorative, and the filigree designs too mimetic and not true to the stories being told.

I tried a number of alternative methods using pen, pastels and screen printing; I also referred to Japanese and Chinese scroll paintings for inspiration (images of war) and tried collage methods using painted paper (inspired by Rex Ray), but I was still not happy...

The imagery was still too 'pretty' and decorative so I decided to think about the story a little more deeply to consider how to convey the tragic loss of life at Grenfell and the on-going injustices; the depiction had to be more arresting and shocking so I decided to use images of the people themselves - those who lost their lives at Grenfell - and to create darker, more representational paintings of fire

The 72 faces of the people who lost their lives will appear in the windows of the tower and will be washed with red tones; the fire will be much darker and smokier. Although still not fully resolved, I am happier that this will be a stronger 'memorial' to the victims as it will arrest the audience and ask them to remember what was (and what still is). I would also like to highlight the life of the artist Khadija Saye, who was just establishing herself as a recognised contemporary artist when she lost her life.

The images above also show how I have begun to experiment with the depiction of Jo Cox (scale and method); I have decided that in all three panels, those who have lost their lives in tragic circumstances will be included using augmented photographs, so there can be no doubt about their identities (Jo Cox, Alan Kurdi, George Floyd and now David Amess, perhaps others too).

  

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