Sky Song

‘There is no change from darkness to light, or from inertia to movement without emotion.’ – Jung

Sky Song is a collaboration with the artist Tessa Peskett. We worked on this show for 18 months, beginning with the onset of Covid 19 in March 2020, and throughout the subsequent lockdowns. The work maps our isolation, confines, and imagined freedoms during this time, through a shared fascination with bird imagery. My installation ’Kindred’ explores the secret and subtle communication between animals: with the chimpanzee representing an ancient and gravitational figure as the ‘Grandmother’ of mankind. It reflects my own need to ‘return to source’ at a time of vulnerability and uncertainty and also opens an enquiry into our true understanding of the connections within nature. What possibilities could arise if humans would cease to dominate?

My wall of ink drawings explore the emotional complexities of feeling both trapped and liberated during this pandemic. They collectively form a visual timeline of this period that disorientated my sense of place and belonging. The powerful re-alignment invoked by a global pause.