Paterson, Hannah
A 2020 graduate in Painting from Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen, and the recipient of the RSA Michie Travel Award in 2020. The artist explains her work on her website; "My work explores the behaviours of human beings and their relationship towards natural resources. Humanity’s search for purity and earthly desires, through these natural resources, can paradoxically lead to unhealthy obsessions. My research currently focuses on the materials: soap and salt as a product and as a symbol. Soap cleanses our bodies but too much soap leads to painful, physical damage which we can see in the actions of people with OCD. Similarly, we cannot live without salt but too much salt, and we perish. There is a beauty and a mystery within this conflict that gets to the core aspect of human nature which can be applied to other aspects of human life. To understand the importance of our connection to such substances my work combines the material with the body through symbolic objects and materials in repetition, drawing attention to the endurance through the gradual physical and emotional damage caused by being trapped in a cycle of unfulfilling desires. I try to investigate this idea of balance further by exploring the line between painting and sculpture, often through relief, whilst still keeping it recognizable as a painting." [My work explores the behaviours of human beings and their relationship towards natural resources. Humanity’s search for purity and earthly desires, through these natural resources, can paradoxically lead to unhealthy obsessions. My research currently focuses on the materials: soap and salt as a product and as a symbol. Soap cleanses our bodies but too much soap leads to painful, physical damage which we can see in the actions of people with OCD. Similarly, we cannot live without salt but too much salt, and we perish. There is a beauty and a mystery within this conflict that gets to the core aspect of human nature which can be applied to other aspects of human life. To understand the importance of our connection to such substances my work combines the material with the body through symbolic objects and materials in repetition, drawing attention to the endurance through the gradual physical and emotional damage caused by being trapped in a cycle of unfulfilling desires. I try to investigate this idea of balance further by exploring the line between painting and sculpture, often through relief, whilst still keeping it recognizable as a painting. [https://www.hannahpatersonart.com/about - accessed 2022-04-19]
