My name is John Morley. I am a visual artist who connects people to the beauty and solitude of spaces and places through painting and photography. I use multi-media to construct moments and impressions, to capture the essence of a place, time or feeling. I currently live in Bodrum and work in both Türkiye and South Africa.
I graduated with an MAFA in Fine Arts from the University of Kwazulu Natal, South Africa (1998). I have work in the permanent collection of the Tatham Art Gallery in Pietermaritzburg and have exhibited both in South Africa and abroad (France). Iwas awarded 1st place in the Face to Face Durban arts festival competition.(1994).
Having grown up on the sub-tropical East coast of South Africa I draw inspiration from rugged natural landscapes and architectural references in both the natural and urban environment.
I am fascinated by that which lies beneath, or inside. The barely hidden scaffolding beneath the thinly veiled exterior. Hence, structure is an important consideration in each of my works.
My current process begins with an initial building phase. Assemblage and collage are employed to construct the forms of a particular region and to create texture and edge contrast. This initial stage is largely intuitive and spontaneous, dedicated to diverse mark making and happy accidents.
I construct form and compress colour, combining paper, acrylic and oil paint. I enjoy pushing the traditionally flat nature of paper collage to suggest perspective, adding depth and dimension to compositions.
I then begin to remove extraneous parts of the scaffolding, deconstructing the composition by sanding, scraping through the layers of paint and paper, polishing and sometimes carving into the surface. I reduce the elements into natural or urban vistas, reinforcing the lights and darks.
I enjoy combing paper, acrylic and oil as their different properties make for interesting textural and colour contrasts.
I try to imbue the material realities of these disparate media with a deep sense of place, to capture the essence, time or feeling of that place through certain moments or impressions.
“My aim is to create immersive, textured moments, hopefully full of atmosphere and depth. I clear out a private little space among the nettles, between the vines, or behind the boulders. A shady nook from where you can peep through the branches, bathe in the atmosphere and dissolve in solitude…or conceal oneself from imminent danger”.