Sarah Whiteley – An Invasion That Comes Slowly £800

Sarah Whiteley - Patchwork Series

An Invasion That Comes Slowly

Oil on Textiles 80cm X 60cm            

Sarah’s art has always evoked and documented journeys, through continents and woodland. There is a tension between the domestic and the wild; pushing forward an expanded notion of what painting can and could be.  She reimagines the painting as an object by using materials with their own history and context.

The unique canvases are created from collaged re-purposed fabric which gives the paintings their domestic narrative. Each fabric element is from a different period of time and has been used differently within the home.

The paintings arise from our shared relationship with woods and forests throughout the year, watching the different seasons play out in colour and light. The wood evolves; brings life and decay in a cyclical process which is echoed in our own lives. Each painting captures a moment in a specific place but as a series they also record the passage of time. Forests and woodlands are often the backdrop to children’s and adult stories, fantasies and imaginations.

Each of the titles of the paintings is a quote taken from children’s literature.

These landscapes expose themselves; they bring together different narratives through the fabric and seductive painted surface which reveal and conceal different details.

Although incredibly personal, these paintings allude to our shared experience of forests and depict the rhythm of life over time.