James Kirkpatrick, Studio View

Recently reading a series of old fables from different parts of the world I noticed a re-occurring clunky technique of moving through themes and concepts by having a character prevent their own execution by entertaining an oppressor through weaving together a series of compelling never ending stories.

Being a muralist involved in creating site specific work I have amassed a pile of paint covered drop cloths and fabric pieces that have lived many different lives of function. It is through the success of their past usefulness, soaked in different inks and pigments that these fabrics can appear less desirable and are normally discarded. I always keep these materials around my workspace after their intended job and use them further for collecting spilled paint, drying off brushes or as table covers that I doodle/sketch out early ideas on.

I have an ongoing practice of outdoor interventions on city walls and found surfaces where I am compelled to create something new out of weathered and destroyed graffiti, city construction damage/designs and marks made by others before me. I began to look at these drop cloths similar to these outdoor canvas’ and found excitement within the unintentional paintings I have been making on these drop cloths.

Spending time with these fabrics, connecting the dots with interventions of intentional mark making, encouraging spacial connection with the unintentional shapes, textures and bleed through washes of colours create pictures that hint at figurative or real life “things” and narratives that might exist which in turn allow these drop cloths to live on as finished paintings that tell their own story.