Sophie Capron

Contemporary Cornish Abstract Artist

Statement

My paintings are a discourse on the tenuous relationship between man and nature. This is established by the sgraffito marks of urban decay that inspire me and the recycled paints that I reuse within my pieces.

I feel privileged to reuse donated paint that others once chose for their homes and workspaces. In acknowledging the historical journey that each paint has taken, I celebrate the choice another person has made and breathe new life into it through the layers of my own work. It is these personal connections that underpin my work and make it poignant and purposeful to me. This paint is not simply discarded and forgotten but repurposed into something new.

I have always been fascinated with how nature and time encroaches on all that is man-made. The idea that over the passage of time a flawless wall or immaculate façade will show the marks of environmental decay and how modern development has the potential to erode the history of a place has an influence on my work. When the layers in the brickwork are exposed there is always the evidence of the past, no matter how untouched the present is.

Over time, the walls we build will be scraped and marked with the conversations of life’s passing and the growth and erosion of nature’s reclamation. It is this bittersweet beauty that I explore.