The Sea as a Metaphor for Death – Artist Statement
“The basis for each panel is an idealised domestic interior, treated in such a way as to dissolve its apparent solidity and stability. The sea washes through everything, destroys everything. I added an anatomical figure (usually featuring a skull), in a nod to the vanitas tradition and to suggest the hapless human protagonist caught in the tragic action of our world. Finally, the words come from a poem I wrote about speech and silence, agency and death. I subjected the lines to the same wrecking process as the images of rooms, rendering parts of them illegible. Nothing survives the waters.”
James Knight is an experimental poet and digital artist. His books include Void Voices (Hesterglock Press), Self Portrait by Night (Sampson Low) and Chimera (Penteract Press). Website: thebirdking.com. Twitter: twitter.com/badbadpoet