Classical Walls in Transition. Recent work.

I am interested in historic buildings that have remained true to their original purpose and restored to their original beauty. My particular interest is in two significant, classically designed, landmark buildings; the Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin and the Palais Garnier opera house in Paris.

Charlottenburg Palace was begun in 1695 and now has the special status of being the only one of five important Prussian royal palaces to survive in the Berlin area. From the beginning it has been through continuous rebuilding and alteration; it was also badly damaged in the Second World War. Today it is restored in all its completely harmonious classical elegance.

Using the strength of its design I follow through with my theme of opposites attract by placing it in unusual and incongruous settings to explore traces of its past. I particularly like to refer to the post- war period of a divided Germany with my continuing subject matter of walls. Thus the palace is shown to be temporarily blocked in, wired up and fenced in by both physical barriers and electronic surveillance with no loss of its lasting significance.

Meanwhile, the Palais Garnier opera/ballet house still thrives as such within its classical façade. I interpret its monumentality as magnificent as ever, even when presented as a fragmented image in a photo album. An integral part of each image are the surrounding roads and railways which I see as conduits, or time lines, leading from the past to the present where the historic grandeur of the building is as undiminished as ever.