Measured in Squares

Measured in Squares is made with chalk pastel and oil paint on drafting film, each piece 41 by 41cm, built on a five by five grid. Each piece follows the same simple structure, but the colours shift from row to row, so you can read them across, down, or as part of the sequence that comes next.

The series has began with green, working through its shifts and variations square by square, before moving on to other colours.

The making is slow, one square placed after another. In amongst all that repetition, one colour always breaks the pattern. It doesn't quite belong, and I like that. It reminds me a little of life, how we build our routines and expect them to hold, and then something comes along and changes things anyway.

The five by five isn't entirely a coincidence. I’m making this work the year I turn 55. It's probably the closest thing to a self portrait I've made, even though you wouldn't necessarily know that just by looking.