Jo Beattie

My work is a reflection on memories of people we love and how we associate them with what they wear. Their patterns and colours are embedded into our memory and become inseparable from our image of them. Our patterns and colours determine not only our character and how we want to be perceived by others but also define us in a time, place and culture.

My most recent work uses shadow to reflect the image of our patterns and identity. I have become interested in the way my artwork can enhance the idea of memory by having a shadow of the image reflected onto a plain background a distance away from the actual work. This enables the shadow to become larger and more defined. The shadow effect has become an increasingly important part of the way I can emphasise the idea of embedding our memories of the past into the abstract and stylised images of my present work.

The work is produced in anyway that best creates the atmosphere I am trying to evoke. I predominantly use print, paint, dyed fabrics and work detail with machine and hand stitching. The backgrounds are wire mesh or totally see through to enable the shadows to become a prominent and integral part of the work.