JO DARBYSHIRE - Artist Statement

My paintings for the last five years have been exploring the nature of 'water as a metaphorical element, a medium, a material and a site.'

I work with the paint itself (oil) to create layers of transparent colour, areas of light and dark and areas of illumination.

I take as a starting point the idea and action of looking under the surface of water bodies. In the past I have worked with the Swan River, the reefs off the coast of Western Australia and recently the frozen lakes of Banff in Canada.

I am fascinated by the historical and social memories contained in these sites including scientific explorations and written narratives. Sometimes my work, informed by an old tradition of oil painting, is inspired by the new technology of the underwater web-cam.

My paintings are about ideas of immersion, desire and apprehension. The metaphor water provides for me corresponds to the deepest personal relationship to emotions, the body and life. We may not know what is coming but we are drawn on.

The work is large scale- because I want the viewer to identify on a bodily or sensorial level. I want people to imagine the experience of swimming or being in water and snorkeling/diving/floating. I want there to be mystery and an appreciation of transformation.

Email: info@summitfineart.com

Telephone: 403.457.5477