#2 Testing, speculating and exploring Nothing

Additive Subtraction

On reading Brian Dillon's interesting article "The Revelation of Erasure":
http://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/articles/revelation-erasure,

I was interested in testing the concept of eradicating an existing image by overpainting. At first this seemed a radical approach for me but once I immersed myself in the process and produced a series of small samples, the act of subtraction through applying an additional, obliterating white layer of paint using rough and gestural marks became at once liberating and enjoyable. I employed this technique on a much larger scale and set about un-doing an existing painting. I discovered a new sense of freedom in my mark making and could now enjoy taking risks within the painting process, figuratively ripping up the existing image to fulfil its potential for a new incarnation. The subtraction of the pre-existing image through the application of the 'purifying' white brush marks was extended further by the addition of impasto. Robert Ryman's white paintings create a meditative emptiness which intrigue me and I set out to capture this quality. The act of applying excess material gave a significance to the canvas surface. A layer of graphite shapes (void forms) further erased the original work and added another layer of nothing. 

Robert Ryman Untitled (1959)