Artist : Marie-Claire Hamon
Title : The Mountain
Medium : oil on canvas
Dimensions : 50 x 60 cm


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Rather than a topographical representation of landscape, Marie-Claire Hamon’s work taps into the strata of history, ecology, cultural lore, and experience that form our human connection to a place. However, humans are not defined identities at the centre of the landscapes she paints. When humans do appear in her paintings, they are undefined by race, culture, gender, or time; they exist as archetypal representations of the human spirit. Her paintings are built through a deliberately slow process of layering. There is a very literal stage of ‘watching paint dry’; it is this stage that allows her to read the work and marvel at the strange synchronicities that have arisen in her paintings. Through this process of  layering, she has introduced elements that suggest mandalas, vestiges of ancient forms of religion, and reminiscences of esoteric signage. She works with the unknown, the accidental, and an unfixed sense of identity. The element of discovery and surprise forms an essential part of her practice as it proliferates new possibilities and directions.

Marie-Claire Hamon was born in Switzerland and currently lives and works in remote West Cornwall. The area is charged with history, myths and folklore, where the ancient walls partitioning the fields are some of the most ancient on the planet, Neolithic quoits and Menhirs dot the surrounding area. Her work has been exhibited throughout the UK, including the Royal College Hunting Prize, The Discerning Eye, The Wells Contemporary, Brighton University and The Centre for European Culture in London.