The most recent inspiration for my work has come from two old properties, a derelict cottage near Milnathort in Perthshire and an internally condemned tenement flat in Edinburgh, in which I now live after extensive renovation earlier this year. I have called this period of my work Changing Times, which reflects a number of personal changes I have made recently. I have used the properties, their contents and in one the transformation, as a way to represent these changes.

I have used images and original materials recovered from each property, including floor and wall coverings which are over 40 years old, and have spent time within each environment to help me create an interpretation of life around these places.

I have used the material gathered and the character of both houses in different ways. Firstly, thinking of the life that has previously occupied them, I have charted my interaction with them. Secondly, as specific inspiration, I have used the actual materials recovered and translated them into a design interpretation.

This kind of work is relevant to me in recognising past lives of a different time. While all things move on, recording life and materials can add significance rather than allowing it to just fade away. Some of the material is now destroyed, or decaying further, but the marking of the imagined life can, in a small way, preserve its being and bring it to life in current times.

In this body of work I have used painting with mixed media including ink, acrylic, collage and oil on card, hardboard and canvas. I have also used photography, both digital and traditional, printed textiles and books to bring together a design-based range of my images and interpretations of this project.

My work tends to take inspiration from the industrial or man-made side of life. I prefer to show my interpretation of the effect of this industry or human activity on the surrounding area or people, but mainly on myself. I prefer to make a representation of what has previously been manipulated or created, often attempting to make my own form of beauty out of perceived ugliness or insignificance.

Anne A Gardner

May 2011