This show is largely inspired by a trip I took to an extraordinary place called Jawai in India in search of Leopards. A magical place hidden between Jodhpur and Udaipur where leopards live in harmony with a nomadic people called the Rabari.
This harmonious relationship between man and animal means the leopards are thriving. They live amongst sacred rocks dotted with temples in a breathtaking landscape that is almost Jurassic. We were lucky enough to spend time with Leopards every day and witnessed sights that will be forever etched in my memory, a mother with cubs, an owl fighting off a young leopard and the flirtation between a male and female a couple of meters from us to name a few. As always I was struck by the beauty and power of these animals in their natural habitat and I hope that in this ever developing world, a world that now needs to fight for conservation, that this extraordinary place with its fascinating people and wildlife will remain protected.
As an artist and particularly one inspired by wildlife I spend a great deal of my time watching and well being watched! In this body of work not only am I trying to convey what I have seen but also this sense of my place in their presence. These are wild souls that exist in a world that we will never fully understand and it is this essence of wildness, this spirit, this power and magic that I am always chasing after in my work.
What immortal hand or eye Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
(William Blake)