Chantelle Wightman

I create paintings using marks in a playful and unorganised way, experimenting with scale and texture. Through combining different mediums such as spray paint, acrylic, ink and plaster, I create layers of texture, allowing for organic movement within the work.

I like to think about what the main elements of the piece are going to be, whether I want to create a sense of repetition or orientation. Working on a large-scale allows me to use unconventional painting tools that I can improvise with, such as mops and old clothes allowing me to create marks that oscillate between refined and more organic.

In the process of making paintings I ask myself questions about my work, such as what holds value in the art practice? If my work is about marks why don’t I see value in other matter such as paint palettes that contain subconscious marks and gestures? I look at whether the value I find in final outcomes are the same as my paint palette inviting observers to consider the value of colour and each layer. Looking at the materials of painting, at gestural marks, at colour relationship values raises contradictions between the way paintings are created and displayed.