In Place and In Time takes the viewer on a journey through the physical and emotional realms in which I make my home. The introspective nature of this series demands a new approach: the nude female figure is situated in dream-like settings, saturated with vivid colours, and complemented by symbolic elements. This liberation from the constraints of visual realism allows the works to convey emotional truths that are much sharper and deeper than would otherwise be possible.

These are the most emotionally intimate paintings that I have ever created. Their genesis began in 2022 when, after spending 13 years on Canada’s West Coast, I relocated to the other side of the country to make my home on the East Coast, in Newfoundland. The change in environment, home and lifestyle; the emotional process of honouring all that has been lost--and gained—from the move, had an enormous impact on me as an artist. This impact is evident in the works. 

Recurring themes include the concept of home and belonging, queer domesticity, vulnerability

and mortality, and our relationship with the natural landscape. Through painting, I make my home, I understand place, and I connect with my community. Paradoxically, it is in this exhilarating, exposed, and precarious environment that I feel most safe and secure. It has allowed me

to observe and explore my own emotional vulnerability in a way that, I hope, elucidates the vulnerability of humankind in general as we strive to make our place in the world. In a world full of mystery and ambiguity, these works urge the viewer to forgo tidy conclusions, to explore and to accept this world with all of its contradictions.

In the creation of SUBTERRA and CHICKEN, I acknowledge the support of ArtsNL, which last year invested $3.2 million to foster and promote the creation and enjoyment of the arts for the benefit of all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.