Claire graduated from Newcastle University in 2006.
Sculptural panels are created through the meticulous and detailed construction of hundreds of individual screen-printed images encased in wax. A single, repeated image is used to create a new structure. Natural patterns and formations occur as the individual component finds its own place within this structure. The playful nature of the individual is captured and set within the wax, trapped in an archeological like manner.
The sculptural print process began with ‘One’ which was created for the Ctrl.Alt.Shift exhibition at BALTIC in 2009 and has since been developing through the awarding of the AA2A scheme at Northumbria University in 2010 and the use of my studio at The NewBridge Project. The images used to create the prints are influenced by sculptural and photographic work, a method of investigation I use in order to source an understanding of form and context. Re-occurring themes of preservation, documentation and collection feed into the work and highly influenced by the ‘Exploring Nostalgia’ residency at Allenheads Contemporary Arts, where I pursued an interest in the representation and misrepresentation of the past that is held so inherently in the objects we are so familiar with.
Constructing the panels through a meticulous process of layering, sealing the papers within the molten wax, creates a delicate tension, a fragile light-permitting surface that magnifies detail and freezes the image in its track. This technique is still relatively infant in its exploration and I feel that the opportunity to work with Situation Rhubarb will provide an excellent ground for challenging this process and developing ideas to create an entirely new set of works. Working in response to the intimate setting of the house I will be able to focus on pushing the installation potential of my work, whilst simultaneously exploring the human and nostalgic connotations to the space.
http://aa2a.org/artists/claire_rowlands
