Heather Ross
The catalyst for my work is typically a hole in my understanding of something, a sensation of distance from it and a desire to get closer. I often become absorbed with seemingly simple or straightforward things, which I then earnestly study, scrutinize and unpack. I expand, repeat and blow up minute details and gestures which tend to become more significant than the subject itself. I love the simple and believe nothing is as simple as it seems.
My work is about revision: how can I alter something to better reflect my understanding and experience of it? How can I harness the overlooked? How might my work encourage an audience to find new ways to connect with a neglected, elusive or distanced subject? My work is essentially about how we come to know and learn about the world through the senses. I’m interested in agitating and disrupting the stability of facts, artifacts and historical material by creating a space to test, challenge or measure authenticity, discover discrepancies and to revel in subjective ambiguity. My tussle with (and in) this space is the work.
My interactions with a subject usually take place across a series of images or objects – emphasising the time based nature of experience and the active role of the body (of both the artist and viewer) in the production of meaning. I combine traditional artistic materials and processes with non- professional, even amateur methods, or tools within the domestic sphere, and use techniques such as re-making, copying and repetition.
I have no consistent subject matter. Past subjects of interest are eclectic and include: Various artworks by avant-garde artist Kurt Schwitters; Conservation, restoration and the re-presentation of ephemeral monuments in the Hatton Gallery’s archive; Lockdown visits to Haslam Park, Preston; The print archive of Gwyneth Alban Davis; The Observer’s Book of Birds; A newspaper photograph of Donald Trump and Theresa May; Found slides and photographs; The physical and virtual/ analogue and digital architecture of the window and screen; Bathing as a practice and ritual in Japanese culture.
I’m originally from Hamilton, Scotland, but now live and work in Preston, Lancashire. I’m a member of The Birley Artist Studios, Preston and The Kurt Schwitters Society (International). I’m currently undertaking a practice-based PhD at Newcastle University, on Kurt Schwitters’ Merz Barn Wall in conjunction with the Hatton Gallery, where the work is situated. I hold an MA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art, London, and a BA (hons) degree in Painting from Grays School of Art, Aberdeen. I work on a part time basis as a Lecturer in Fine Art at The University of Central Lancashire, Preston.
