Statement

'The drawings and paintings of Sally Taylor seem to be in a constant state of urgent communication. She is immersed in a daily studio practice that repeatedly affirms the primacy of the hand drawn mark. Her work is personal and intense. She habitually begins with numerous found blank sheets of paper, which have their own character and history and exert a strong fascination for her. She reworks and assembles them into larger panels, whose seams and shaped limits present the artist with a suggestive compositional structure upon which she can superimpose her marks. Taylor states that she attempts to ‘achieve images that are raw, painterly and representative of a nervous energy’ and that her ‘intention is to avoid pre-meditation and ideology that could jeopardise the creative process’. She undertakes this process by pursuing a repertoire of signs. Some of these are particular to the artist and are open to interpretation, while others are drawn from conventional systems (such as the alphabet) that have meanings accorded by a wider consensus. Taylor characterises her practice in terms of ‘emotional resonance’, where ‘issues, thoughts and feelings, which often evoke memory, personal history, fears and anxieties, are central concerns’. The focus on oral and verbal communication in her images makes a display of the tension between dialogue that is intimate and statements that are made in the public realm. ‘Outsider’ art is a significant reference for Taylor. Her insistent and serial process-based practices share some of the characteristics of anyone driven to endlessly draw and paint. But, by presenting artworks for exhibition, Taylor positions herself as a creative artist in relation to an ‘other’ and we, as an audience, are invited to respond. The intensity of her worked surfaces reach out to us in a scream that is both visual and silent, a cry that conveys a profound emotional depth and provides an experience that is consistently powerful.'

 Jonathan Parsons, 2009, arc, Aspex Gallery

© Sally Taylor 2011