Hantzsch Island 1 by Phil Irish

Phil Irish

Hantzsch Island 1

Oil on Paper, Collaged

29 x 34 in

I've had this image in my my head since 2017, when I had the opportunity to spend 9 days on an icebreaker in Canada's far north. But what visual language to use, to capture the vast space swirling with birds? Recently, I have been using materials in my painting, and extending my practice combining panting and collage. This piece is one of my first to use natural Japanese and Thai papers with synthetic papers like Yupo. These thin papers opened up a new kind of collage for me --- contrasting colours, spatial sensibilities, and sweeping movement. Moments in time are layered, to match the vitality of this remote arctic bird colony. To me, collage is the perfect language to address not only the wonder of nature, but the fragmentation and fragility that characterize our epoch.