- Venue
- The Atkins Gallery
- Starts
- Wednesday, November 19, 2014
- Ends
- Thursday, November 27, 2014
- Address
- Lower Bond Street Hinckley LE10 1QU
- Location
- East Midlands
A personal perspective on protecting our forests
The focus of my work is the emerging landscape of The National Forest at Feanedock Covert, an area of both established and newly planted woodland adjacent to a landfill site that could itself become woodland in the near future. The maintenance of this cycle of growth, the effect of intervention, and the differences between these managed trees and woodland left to grow naturally, particularly interest me. It is an ongoing source of inspiration.
The layers and patterns of growth that emerge in the landscape over time are key factors in terms of line, space and viewpoint.
In small scale installation work around the idea of ‘protection’ I have used the very materials that safeguard newly planted trees to reflect growth and change over time. As well as the pieces shown in this exhibition a larger scale installation ‘Ash Protector’ stands in an ash grove at The Grange, Snibston Discovery Park. It stands as a totem: a reminder of the current vulnerability of ash trees against ash die back. https://www.behance.net/transformsnibston.
The presence of protectors in the landscape has also become a significant feature of my mixed media images alongside work that explores patterns of growth in more established forests. These 2D images may appear at first sight to be of a particular place but actually record the experience of walks through the landscape where the current view is altered by a turn of the head or by the memory of where my steps have taken me. From photographs taken en route, I assemble gel transfer prints, controlling the extent and intensity of the image revealed. These form the basis of the work which is then drawn and painted into to create the final piece. Further work in acrylics may then emerge out of this process.
By exploring the subtle changes occurring in the forest I hope to encourage people to be aware of change and how small details can be of significance and interest. With such knowledge and experience we build our own memories and connections.
www.chpartnership.org www.maureencooperartist.co.uk www.facebook.com/maureencooperartist
The Atkins gallery is open Mon-Fri 10 – 4 Sat 10 -1
