“My paintings involve a process of working and re-working through the application and scraping away of layers of paint to create textured surfaces. From this, fragments of imagery are pulled through and offset by areas of flat colour. There is a documentary quality to the imagery, which borrows from old war photographs and current newspaper clippings, suggesting the timeless dialectic of war. I play with ideas of the "predator", referencing fighter planes, birds of prey, monster tanks and men of power. I also try to communicate the tragedy of the consequences that these predators inflict on the landscape, and their prey. The overall effect I want to encompass with my paintings is one of somber ambiguity. I aim for a dialogue between the viewers perception and the metaphorical resonances of the work.” Cara Thorpe, November 2004
