The KALEIDOSCOPE collection

KALEIDOSCOPE: NATURE AND COLOUR IN THE KINGDOM OF WONDER

About the collection

The English word kaleidoscope has roots in Greek, meaning “observation of beautiful changing patterns.” The wild, fragile beauty of Cambodia allows us the opportunity to observe kaleidoscopes. This series of paintings pays homage to the animals and flora around us—though often overlooked or ignored—and the fascinating, picturesque and often tender moments they evoke.

These works were inspired by my love for the simple elegance of the Cambodian countryside and its wildlife. From there, my inspiration has come to include Phnom Penh city scenes, the seaside around Kep and sites throughout the temples of Angkor. Connecting with nature is very important in my daily life and so vital to my work as an artist. The stunning richness of Cambodia’s natural world is often forgotten in its rapidly developing towns and cities. Through these works, I want viewers to pause and reconnect, however briefly, with that disappearing world. I hope that by doing so, we are reminded of that exquisite rarity that our natural environments possess. We have torn down and remade whole swathes of land that were once wild and rich in plant and animal life. It is beyond clear that we must urgently reassess our relationship with our planet and recognize that the totality of life on it is bigger than us as a species. We need to accept that it was the natural world that first enabled us to survive and then prosper. The reassessment of that relationship is crucial - its bigger than money, bigger than politics and power, our continued survival here on Earth, not just future generations but in our own lifetimes, depends on it.

I hope to incite curiosity and to motivate further learning and concern for the animal and plant life that remains in this beautiful country and on this planet. Life on Earth deserves more respect than we humans have thus far shown. I hope these painted representations of our planet’s astonishing and quickly vanishing forms of life remind us of that.

The works are thoughtfully brought to life through a delicate process of hand drawn stencils and acrylic paint on regionally sourced canvas.