Artist Statement

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Art and Faith are inseparable. The joy and delight I find in painting and prayer are for me the same.

It is ordinary objects, places and people that interest me. The way they interact with each other when painted, and how that painted outcome interacts with its environment. This is particularly the case when exhibited within ecclesiastical spaces. These interactions can change the ordinary into something that alludes to the spiritual. It is how the artwork creates the conversation between, the place, the space, and the viewer that extends what a work can be. 

The act of painting slows time and emptying the picture plane of extraneous details augments time further. Paintings go against the frenetic pace of the world. This calming of time leaves space for the viewer to stop, look, consider, and encounter the work in a way that is meaningful to them. This slowing gives permission to take time to reflect. 

CURRENT WORK

Chairs hold a particular fascination for me. Chairs are synonymous with the presence of people; there is a presence even when there is an absence. I have used church chairs - quite literally chairs found and used in churches-  to create a series of eight paintings based on the Beatitudes ( Matthew Chapter 5). By combining the chairs with other ordinary objects, a link is established between the artwork, the church congregation, and faith. The link is allegorical, things implied for the individual to ponder. 

The well-known Christian artist Stanley Spencer stated, “there is joy in the everyday things”. There is hope and reverence in everyday things, all we need to do is know how to look.  

Nicola Ann Davey