About Mike

Artists Statement

Like so many artists before me and around me I use the human figure as metaphor to explore and describe my take on the beauty and complexity, not only of human form but also of our shared human condition; neither of which, (form and condition) will be changing anytime soon. I use the figure without clothing or additional artefact so as not to have it locked into or defined by any particular time or era; to make it timeless.

My work is  object based and as I use traditional materials and techniques (clay, metal, fire) my work does not fit in with current curatorial and critical art templates. I don’t mind that in the least I have no need to fit in. I like to think of my work as being  post-contemporary but describe myself simply as a figurative sculptor.

To me how one says what one says is as important as what one says in the first place. I enjoy using my hands and acquired skills in the making of my art. It wouldn’t upset me in the least to be described as an artisan or craftsman rather than an artist as long as I’m happy with the quality of my output. I use permanent materials so that my work can reach out through time. I try to make the work aesthetically pleasing and also try to lace it with humour. I would like to think that it could have touched people from the past equally as well as those here now and those not yet born.
The work an artist does expresses who and what he or she is; not only that, the creative processes involved, both physical and mental, serve as exercises in self-exploration and discovery; helping one know oneself. My Art, along with the meanings I weave into it, should in its finality and totality define who I am or who I was. I suppose on a worldwide level Art has that same function namely to serve as a diagnostic tool, a civilising stimulus and diary of mankind’s journey.

Art is one of the things that defines us and and explains us, it helps distill our humanity and pass on its message.

Mike’s Studio

Many people regard the artist’s studio as a place of mystery, an art work in itself. Whole studios have been recreated in art galleries, an exercise I find a bit excessive. For me the studio is a living place and not a dead thing. To be sure the space an artist creates in offers insights into that artists life/work, hopefully these photographs taken over the years (along with images shown in the work page under “In progress”) should give the viewer an opportunity to view the ever-changing face of my workplace. Various works, some finished and stored along with works in progress can be seen, some ideas brought to fruition along with those abandoned. This section is meant to be a window into my private retreat which like any child’s room it is usually in a mess but hopefully it’s an interesting mess. Magic can sometimes unfold out of this mess, evidenced, hopefully by the finished artworks themselves but more often only to be experienced by the artist in the transitions the work undergoes as it emerges and the process of its emergence.