Artist Statement

Michael’s work is born from the principle of 'I make from not what I see, but what I saw.’ 
Paintings are made from a process involving drawing, photography and poetry.

Collecting photographs has alway been a type of ‘therapeutic secret’ going right back from when he was first presented with a photo album that documented his adoption.
He describes how the quiet shuffling through photographs became maps or puzzles for him so that he could visually process the environment around him.
'I like the way they make me feel, wether they draw fond memories or not, it is always better ‘knowing' the perception of time and the value of the journey.’ He feels his paintings begin there life in these moments of solitude, sat alone with both hands clutching the photograph and his body sinking into the image.

Another importance to image making throughout Michael's work is found through writing. The engagement with the stillness of nature or the bombardment of human interaction is where interest is usually sparked. Wether it is from his living surroundings, Cornwall /London or further a field on trips across Europe.
Poetry offers him the chance to record the instant, visceral and the very realness of personal experiences. The intimacy between him and the world is at its most truthful when the notion of sight and thought make there way in to a physical realm. After they arrive at this point, Michael states the poetry to then have the ability to be, enhanced, derailed and disfigured. ‘Anything you want can be manipulated, playing around with narrative and metaphor, the ability transfer failures to succeed, people in to things or vice verser, its all about changing the physical and adapting the reality in to something far more adventurous, the idea of breaking certain boundaries of reality through writing is a powerful thing and can create imagery that becomes far more potent in its new identity.’
In his urge to scribble he says he can conjure his own uniqueness and ‘chance’ to create the wildest of worlds and from that his paintings can manifest into something far more ambiguous than first thought. If poetry can comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable fulfilling its purpose and moving forward.

Michael recalls a painter in his last ever interview before his death, being asked ‘did you ever want to give up or retire?’ He answered ‘yes of course’ followed up by ‘the mind however always pics up the brush.’
Similar thoughts presented by philosopher Alan Watt’s ‘as a child you don't know how to shine the sun?’ ‘you do not think how to breath?’ When it comes to painting, Michael attaches himself to these ideas of thought, while he upholds the importance of the progression of learning. From this sparks the subject of ‘infinite life’ and the conversation of the possibility of life existing in non life. Michael’s research also extends in to the works of artist, philosopher Bracha Ettinger.
Grappling with Ettinger’s ideas of what happens in pre life and post life, Michael asks wether the form of beauty resides throughout these voids or does the sense of beauty only lie between the fill of time that presents itself between the maternity ward and the crematorium? Do we just try and fill the voids between these states of living and none living as a perspective of hope. Are they a true importance to one another or just an uncanny coincidence? Or can they exist alone?

Within Michael’s works a clever pallet of influences can be found, with the presence of Old and new Masters. Intimately bonding with artists that provoke imagery with parallel suggestions of the pre, present and post life formula. Hieronymus Bosch opens up the idea to create all the layers of death and glory existing in one world (painting). Whilst turning towards Botticelli for compositional and decorative influence. Creeping forward in time Munch’s relationship with angst offers Michael great comfort towards the world he lives in, his favourite painting is Munch’s ‘The Dance Of Life’ . Closer to home as a Cornish Influence appears the painting’s of Karl Weschke whose discomforted figures in limbo like landscapes relate well to Michael’s interest in displaying the beautiful compatibility of success and failure. 

Michael’s work is autobiographical, cataloguing the day to day of his life with honesty. It provides an insight in to the depth of his mind and character. The work displays enormous energy and experiment in paint. His life has been filled with significant mile stones, corners turned and moments of self made luck. For Michael painting is always an attempt to seek guidance and gain clarity. Each painting for him is created to achieve loss as well as gain in order to be the best it can be. The top layer of the painting communicates openly with the insecurities buried within it, offering the chance for onlookers to attach and reflect themselves into the artists story.
Works created in the last six months emphasise a celebratory connection to both his worlds ‘Romania’ and ‘England’ whilst seeing what happens when alienating himself and his work in LA.

‘Michaels work is not something you should think about in bed before falling asleep.
He is going to stay there with you, hell keep you awake.
He is going to kiss you, smoke you, drink you…..
He is going to grab you and squeeze you to get the sweat the tears and pain out of you,
And he’ll make a beautiful painting on the walls of your room with them.
(that’s if you do sleep) it’ll Remind you that no…It was not a dream.’ Marta Timon