Scratchcard Paintings
A series of paintings that take their inspiration from the markings on losing UK National Lottery scratchcards.
Back in 2014 I was given a Pentax K-1000 film camera. Needing subject matter to practice using black and white film I walked the streets of London looking for things to shoot. I was instantly drawn to the many discarded scratchcards that seemed to be everywhere, littering the pavements outside corner shops and Sainsbury Locals all around town. I began taking shots of the thrown away cards and collecting them, not really knowing why I was at the time. One day after picking up a card on the Marylebone Road I noticed the markings and realised what they represented: just before finishing these marking the player would have still been filled with hope of winning something. After the final scratches they would have realised the card was a losing one and, most probabaly, angrily tossed it aside. i started thinking about that moment,how these incredibly beautiful marking represented a moment - something like a moment between the hope of winning and the despair of losing. I rushed home and began drawing, painting and trying different methods of re-capturing the markings.
At that time I wasn’t into painting, I was using found paper and objects to make collages and readymade sculptures. Replicating the scratchmarks was like opening Pandora’s box in terms of making abstract marks and I became obsessed with making minimal abstract paintings. These works, representing this moment between hope and despair, became a series of paintings I continue to make until now. They were a way into painting for me, giving me a base concept to experiment with surfaces and materials, different paints and textures.
The paintings have been received well, they have been included in private collections internationally and exhibited in a group show at Saatchi Gallery in London.
A series of paintings that take their inspiration from the markings on losing UK National Lottery scratchcards.
Back in 2014 I was given a Pentax K-1000 film camera. Needing subject matter to practice using black and white film I walked the streets of London looking for things to shoot. I was instantly drawn to the many discarded scratchcards that seemed to be everywhere, littering the pavements outside corner shops and Sainsbury Locals all around town. I began taking shots of the thrown away cards and collecting them, not really knowing why I was at the time. One day after picking up a card on the Marylebone Road I noticed the markings and realised what they represented: just before finishing these marking the player would have still been filled with hope of winning something. After the final scratches they would have realised the card was a losing one and, most probabaly, angrily tossed it aside. i started thinking about that moment,how these incredibly beautiful marking represented a moment - something like a moment between the hope of winning and the despair of losing. I rushed home and began drawing, painting and trying different methods of re-capturing the markings.
At that time I wasn’t into painting, I was using found paper and objects to make collages and readymade sculptures. Replicating the scratchmarks was like opening Pandora’s box in terms of making abstract marks and I became obsessed with making minimal abstract paintings. These works, representing this moment between hope and despair, became a series of paintings I continue to make until now. They were a way into painting for me, giving me a base concept to experiment with surfaces and materials, different paints and textures.
The paintings have been received well, they have been included in private collections internationally and exhibited in a group show at Saatchi Gallery in London.