June Higgins – January 2011– Artist of the Month

I am a painter and sculptor working in a process-based way – this is a natural, intuitive method of working for me. I do not have a specific product I am trying to create. Instead, I may start out with a couple of vague ideas of some materials I want to try putting together or colours I want to use, and just keep seeing what else needs to be added. It’s a lot about problem-solving: scale, proportion, construction, and composition. Contrasting textures and materials is an important aspect of my work: transparent vs opaque; finer vs thicker lines; Shiny vs solid; and small forms vs medium/ large forms.
In my recent sculpture work I continue to explore the use of domestic items with references to the body. The sculptures are made from craft and hardware supplies, art project leftovers, and found objects – basically materials that are close at hand, easy and cheap to get. The best way I can explain my choice of materials is they are the ones that I am most interested in working with, either because of their colour, texture, or shape. I make components and join them together tentatively to make the sculpture. This again is natural for me - not wanting to commit to the permanent attachment.
In my ‘Confections’ series, soft interiors intimate the inside of a body - of things hidden, or only partly seen, and only partly accessible. The hand-made constructions with their spine-like bumps contrast with frivolous materials (pom-poms, hair curlers, bubble wrap, balloons) that support the decorative and impractical nature of the work. The transient nature of the body is alluded to by the tentative way in which the sculptures are assembled.
When painting I apply colour with intuitive gestures that I then respond to, adding, obscuring, or leaving the first brush strokes intact in some areas. The theme of my paintings is the imagination, but very specifically they are a representation of the state of mind that comes about through reading children’s fantasy, where anything is possible, and the environment is slightly dangerous but beautiful at the same time.

June Higgins