With Arabesques, my intention was to produce a series of portraits that resembled specimens under a microscope. I wanted to minimise narrative and focus on the portrait, isolating both subject and viewer.

The first two paintings of this series are deliberately stripped back and confrontational. The same approach was used in a series of nudes painted in 1990 and I was interested in returning to this concept.

For some time I have wanted to reference genealogy in my work, something from my family history. My only hesitation was that I was after something ambiguous to work with.
While finishing the second portrait, I came across a photograph taken in the mid 1930s of my father and his brothers and sisters. I was fascinated by the domestic details: crocheted doilies, rugs, clothing detail, patterned furniture, etc., but what really struck me was the bold arabesque wallpaper.

The pattern is a stylised heraldic ‘Fleur-de-Lys’, a historic emblem with a distinctly feminine characteristic. The appeal in using this was one of ‘domestication’ which is a recurring theme in much of my work.

By Arabesque III, my intent was to make the viewer ‘work’ to isolate the portrait - completely opposite to my original aim. With dense patterning, I am questioning some of the presuppositions commonly ascribed to portrait painting - that is, by sheer virtue of using pattern the work becomes decorative and consequently, lightweight.
Original pencil lines are retained and visible. In this instance they emphasise the idea of documenting the past by revealing something of the history of the work itself.
These are the first paintings where I have used a direct down-light, creating a harsher contrast of shadows and light.

The ‘frame-within-a-frame’ device used in Arabesque VI has been a familiar motif since ‘Love Letters’ (2003). In this instance, it delineates two abstract environments (the past, the future).

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