Xaverine Bates

By using commonplace materials, such as nails, string and paper which, in their own right have no particular intrinsic beauty or any extraordinariness, by drawing with them in space through suspension, I am attempting to create works of peacefulness and ethereal tranquillity. Therefore by limiting my materials in the manner of the Minimalist movement and by using everyday materials, as the Arte Povera movement did, I am trying to create work which, while being both process-led and somewhat obsessive, made by repetitive actions over time, creates a powerful quietness overall. Rather than celebrating the loud things in life, I prefer to celebrate those things, people and objects which get overlooked, or which are too hastily judged by virtue of their stillness. I want to celebrate shyness, inner reserves and the spaces between words in which true communication often occurs, once the words have stopped being spoken and the noise has subsided.

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