In this project, I used a technique called pyrolysis to convert organic materials into ‘biochar’, a particular form of charcoal that traps carbon in a stable form for thousands of years. The ‘biochared’ object was then photographed, before being ground down into an ink. I then used this ink to paint the exact form of the original object.

In this way, the painting is both a representation of the object, as well as being the object itself. The content and material become inseparable. Through the act of painting, the original, fragile object becomes made permanent, in the tradition of the ‘still life’, which fixed a transient natural form in paint. In my work, the object is preserved within the painting of itself.