Mairi Ward - painter

Practical engagement with materials is central to my arts practice. Whilst painting I engage in a creative play. The most exciting moments in the studio are when something new emerges. The conception of my work is inextricably linked to my everyday activities. In my practice the engagement in creative process is paramount.

My paintings are composed of layers of overlapping and interlocking forms. The process is built on laborious repetition. Through repeating simple patterns over the whole canvas quite complex patterns emerge. As the layers build up a visual push and pull occurs. Patterns pop out and fall back as layers are added. I mainly work with water-based house paints and ink. The fluidity of these mediums is well suited to the methods of application that I use.

There are many similarities, both philosophical and material, between my arts practice and that of dance. My interest in the process is primarily due to the movement inherent in it. It is through movement that I engage with the world. The things I make are the traces, or imprints of my actions. For me, the process is the outcome, when immersed in it I find a sense of equilibrium with what is.

Mairi Ward
May 2009