REARRANGING THE UNIVERSE

Artist Statement

I’ve been rearranging the universe - questing to change my own measure of what to do with my time, ability and opportunity. Having just marked 20 years of roaming free as a full time artist, I've been asking myself all the XL questions like what do I want to explore with my creative practice and make with my art? And what am I most curious about?

I’ve spent some time out from exhibiting in the past few years and I’ve been building a new practice of play and experimentation in the studio; twisting the dials, changing the filters and volumes on different things, practicing turning away from ideas of scarcity and focusing on abundance. An abundance of ability to create and make anew, ‘Rearranging the Universe’ is one of the results of this.

Last year I really leaned into building a library of stamps to create a set of artworks based on a few big play sessions over 12 months. The worlds are busy and carefully laid out, take a look around. Some images are clear and some are distorted. Some combine and reshape with others. I’m moving them around; they’re all getting rearranged.

Using a multitude of stamps for this rapid printing technique allowed me to make many experiments and plenty of failures. The process left me energised and inspired for the next possible rearrangement. I unlocked and freed myself from pressure I often put on my work - to control, draft or simply not give the work enough time to breathe.

I really enjoyed making and stamping these works into existence.

"The ultimate hidden truth of the world is that it is something that we make, and could just as easily make differently”.  I really like this David Graeber quote. I first learnt of it while making these artworks, with my mind spinning about our own ability to create change. We need a bit more of this kind of optimism.

I want to imagine and remake another world.

Request catalogue for David Booth's 'Rearranging the Universe'