War

The theme of war began to appear in my work a few years ago  when I started to use archive material towards new narratives. One of the earliest was ‘Angel’ made in response to a 19th century engraving of tunnels under Kings Cross Station (from ‘The Builder’ Journal of Architecture). At first I wanted to tell a story about time and travel, but instead an image of Auschwitz began to emerge, followed by the figures of two angels. I had been reading non fiction books about WW2 and the Holocaust and was thinking of William Blake, with his references to the power and protection of Angels. Conscious of living through politically unstable and secular times, like others I long for a more stable  and peaceful world. Photographs on social media about conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine bring back memories of earlier wars, genocide and repression. I am haunted by images of people walking across desolate landscapes with children, carrier bags, animals. Where is home for them?