Catherine James’ practice is grounded in print and combines traditional techniques with digital technologies to produce works made with paper, textiles and film. For this exhibition Catherine has made a sequence of collages on canvas panels.
Each panel reflects an aspect of an individual’s relationship with a window. Some panels consider the window as a boundary between an interior space and the world outside, that protects from, and is sometimes breached by, weather, sound or wildlife. Other panels use the window as a framing device, to explore both exterior landscapes and internal, domestic settings. Every panel is unique, although some motifs appear repeatedly, reflecting the experience of looking at, and through, a window that is familiar. Each collage begins as a digital assemblage, and is then disrupted and cut into multiple sections. These sections are merged into a new whole, reconstituted, and separated again into sections. The final image is cut into segments and presented as a grid, reflecting the grid-like structure of windowpanes. Each finished panel is also a single pane of the larger grid evident when the gallery wall is viewed at a distance.
Catherine trained as an academic Obstetrician and Gynaecologist before completing a Fine Art Foundation diploma (Morley College, Distinction) and an MA in the History of Art (Courtauld Institute of Art, Distinction). Both clinical and historical training influence her creative work. Catherine is currently working on a London Arts and Humanities Partnership (AHRC) project focused on early printed material in the rare book collection at the Royal College of Physicians.
Website: Catherine James
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