Canvases

Ash 1, 2 and 3 — After Weathering

Following exposure to the elements, the surfaces carry both the original markings and the slower inscriptions of weather and microbiome activity. The works continue to register time, environment and material transformation.

Close surface details can be viewed in the ‘Detail’ section above.

About the Three Canvases

As with the wider Ash series, these works engage with the ancient farming practice of controlled burning — clearing scrub, returning nutrients to the soil, and using the residual ash as a potassium-rich fertiliser.

Using fire ash as material, I made Ash 1 outdoors at night, marking the canvas with twigs, leaves and whatever was to hand. When complete, the canvas was cut and dispersed as bookmark “seeds”, echoing the cyclical seasonality of the planting calendar.

Ash 1, 2 and 3 were layered and left to weather outside on the farm for approximately three months, through freezing, storm-laden winter conditions. The surfaces carry the imprint of that time.

The two films, Ash Day and Ash Night, document the work in process and reflect the physical conditions in which it was made — situated within the rhythms of farming life and the open landscape.