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The Sakura studies emerged from an exploration of the first bloom of Japan’s cherry blossoms. A threshold between seasons that signifies renewal and the transitory nature of life. The pale pink and white blossoms, fleeting by nature, offer a sustained meditation on impermanence.
This fragility is embedded within each work. A fine Sakura Pink gesso forms the ground, selected to evoke the initial blush of a blossom bud, poised on the verge of opening. The surface is shaped through process: as the gesso dries, the canvas contracts, producing organic fissures that are inherent to the material behaviour of the work. These are carefully worked back into the ground using water and remnants of canvas, resulting in a miniature monumental, marble-like surface.
The painting is finally sealed with warm encaustic wax, fixing the surface in time; held in tension between fragility and permanence.