?KAREN MAXTED (PURVES)
?She/Her
?b.1983
?GLASGOW, SCOTLAND

?
I create surreal landscapes by selectively cutting objects and shapes from images of contemporary paintings produced by other artists. I collect these fragments alongside marks scavenged from the world around, such as graffiti on tabletops and paint on floors. I reconfigure them in new combinations, alongside my own marks. I build new worlds for them, letting them breathe and tell their own stories. This results in ambiguous narratives which provoke thoughts of otherworldliness. I play with the human desire to find recognisable forms by arranging the shapes into compositions which look as if they feature characteristics of the natural world; fictitious shapes appear somehow familiar; as flora and fauna, rocks or rivers. Threads weave across linen, modular collage pieces connect shapes with symbols from architectural drawings and play with perspectives and scale akin to urban plan and maps.