HAMMERGLAZE

or The precious jewel of steel is like a flower folded over herself until her skin is as hard as hammered morning sky.

Made from diverted industrial metal waste, aluminium, steel, acrylic, pva size, epoxy resin, oil, isolation coat, uv archival spray varnish on stretched canvas.

I built this series of paintings over approximately 16 months in an attempt to investigate and better understand the nature of industrial metals. Collaborating with steelworkers, I asked them to save me the cutting waste from their shop floors--which I washed and magnet filtered. This was bound alongside commercially sourced aluminium and powdered 314 stainless steel in dozens of alternating layers. The metals were flecked through mostly clear paint, building over time to create a deep, shimmering picture plane that produces a 'light box' effect. Methodologically inspired by the work of Pat Steir, I wanted to minimize my mark-making as much as possible and allow the nature of the paint to lead. Occasionally, I would introduce an incompatible oil layer, which when coated over repeatedly with PVA size, acrylics and resins creates a highly anomalous diveted pattern that mimics galvanized surfaces. An exploration of the nature of metal, they are suffused with a quiet strength. Like liquid sheet metal, they are watery mirrors that reflect the industrial systems that produced them.

5' x 4'
Available.