Revisiting the Pixel: New Works in Progress

The two pieces I’m currently working on have deep personal significance. They are based on NFTs I created but never sold during the NFT boom—digital fragments that, in a way, have come full circle. Their origins stretch back even further to a pixelated image captured on an old Ericsson mobile phone, a photo that first sparked my fascination with painting. At the time, my frustration with translating that low-resolution digital image into paint led me to enroll at UNSW College of Fine Arts. That was nearly 20 years ago, and I’m still captivated by glitch, digital corruption, and the way brokenness itself can be beautiful.

These new works embody that ongoing exploration of decay—both digital and physical. Using oil and cold wax, I’m layering textures with palette knives and squeegees, allowing the material to build up unpredictably. The process is raw and physical, echoing the distortions and artifacts found in corrupted digital images. Compression techniques, scratching, and reduction play a huge role, with tools as unconventional as coathangers, forks, and skewers helping me carve into the surface, revealing what lies beneath.

The final stages will involve glazing and reduction, deepening the sense of history within the layers. These paintings are more than just a nod to my artistic beginnings—they are a continuation of a long fascination with transformation, imperfection, and the beauty of things falling apart.