10 beds - pararphenalia

I use the bed/room as a metaphor for the symbolic undertones of relationships firmly placed in the domestic arena because nothing is perfect. Undoubtedly my work as a nurse has informed my use of the bed and important social and psychological concerns. Ultimately an understanding of self and loss brings a connected personal approach.

Throughout my work the bed/room and paraphernalia, especially the quilt has emerged as a repetitive symbolic motif for subversive messages. The play and affinity between elements of pattern, textile, drape, cloth and stitch and a secret language of symbols, underpins my work as a mode of communicating these messages.

Cloth's intrinsic fragility lends itself to recycling and reuse and requests patching, repairing and reassembling, (Kai Chan 1998). Though they appear gentle and calm, the 14 reassembled traditional quilt blocks, using my painted images, are metaphors for flawed identities - I see beauty in imperfection. These examples linked to the bed are explicit and have a direct relationship to my paintings and performance video.