Exhibitions and Galleries

Verriales 2026 - Heritage

The Negotiation II

We now live in a world where deals and one-sided negotiations are becoming the way to resolve the world’s problems. This shallow approach to very serious situations is undermining the art of diplomacy.

In this piece, The Negotiation, are the figures coming to some mutual agreement or is there a sense of bullying and domination within this deal.

Life as an artist is a journey, a desire to draw and make things and use your imagination.

It can then take you on to an exploration of new ideas and techniques.

As you acquire these new skills it opens up a world of art and artists, some of whom become friends.

And so, the Odessey begins, taking you on to travel to new lands meet new people and acquire more new friends.

These are optimistic pieces which challenge a world of anger and division, we all need friends the more the merrier.

Collecting and buying art often requires a negotiation between gallery and collector this relationship exists in life and society as well. Negotiations often end in a stand-off; in this piece we are unsure if the negotiation has been successful or the two figures have reached a stale mate. Politics and life throw up these situations all the time in fact we are living through a situation now which is causing a world crisis. Not all negotiations are successful. But in this work, all seems OK.

Whilst some of my figurative forms have been androgenous, I have mainly concentrated on the male figure and have always been slightly nervous about depicting the female form. This is because, up until now the themes I have been dealing with and the questions I have been asking, have gone through a thought process from a man’s perspective.

With The Unstable Pedestal and Venus Off Balance pieces I have turned, for the first time, to the female figure and themes about women’s place in society today.

Throughout history the position of women in our civilisation has often been a troubled story of abuse and exploitation. So, with these pieces I question whether this situation has changed and are women as vulnerable as ever?

Fairness and balance in society is still more of a problem for women than men.

Looking beyond our own society, the world situation is much worse and women’s position in life becomes even more insecure and disturbing.

To portray my feelings about this mismatch in humanity I have set the figure slightly off balance, giving her an unsteadiness and awkwardness indicating vulnerability.

During the modelling process I play with ideas around the iconography of the female form and a skewed sense of insecurity.

They are not fragile feminine forms but strong totems or effigies, with a certain dignity but, nevertheless, strangely off balance and vulnerable.

We are living in a troubled world where anger, cruelty, self-interest, and injustice are driving people from their homes. Unfortunately, this has always been the case from time immemorial and for many reasons we seem unable to live peacefully with each other.

We have just lived through a period where being at home was the safest place and caring for each other was the way to get through the pandemic. But even so conflict and flight were always in the background and for may the idea of a home was just a dream.

We are now living through another conflict in Ukraine and images of displaced people losing their homes are being etched on our minds

In these pieces that idea of a home, a place to live in peace, is something to cherish.