Amazing Land Art by Justin Bateman using pebbles and stones
The ground upon which I walk is both my canvas and my pallete. Galleries are great, but I’m rarely more impressed than a walk in nature.
My work is about many things… One aspect is memory. The way in which memory is stored, both physically and metaphysically. One of my ex-students recently pointed out that my work isn’t impermanent, it lives on – the pebbles have simply become pixels. I guess she’s right. So what does impermanence mean? Do things ever disappear or does energy just transform into something else?
The objects I use such as pebbles and stones are ancient vessels, embedded with many years of information. I’m very aware of this as I work with them. Different stones often have different traits and they can render a wide variety of effects upon the portrait I am creating.
Often my subjects are figureheads, known for philosophical, political, spiritual or psychological accomplishments. Sometimes they are just everyday people. I hope the narratives of these peoples lives are somehow captured by the stones that reconfigure their physiognomy for this limited period of time, before I return the stones to their natural disorder….’The entropy of life’ as an artist friend suggested to me.
There is a meditative aspect to each stage of the work; particularly whilst collecting the stones and creating the portrait. It’s in the meditative state that ‘I’ the ‘creator’ meet myself. No other motives need be involved, but I do reflect on my choices after the event has taken place. There are technical aspects that can always be improved upon.
The beauty of this process is that I don’t have any idea how a piece will look at the outset. The stones dictate the structure of the work, so each piece has a character derived of its own variables. This is true to life I think… The work incorporates a natural complexity, rather like the people it depicts. ~ @Justin Bateman
“David #2 Portrait” 2021
“Fisherman Portrait” 2021
“George WashingSTONE Portrait” 2021
“Robert De Niro Portrait” 2021
“Refugee Portrait” 2020
“Karl Rudziak Portrait” 2020
This is great ! I always adore antique mosaics often found in “ digs “ of Grease ,Italy,
Turkey. It takes special skill in art. Now, looking at your “mosaic” portraits I got an
idea : why not to put som different grate pebbles and then paint the portrait over
gravel and pebbles. But before, I should affix the rocks on the plywood base .
This way it will become SALEBLE !😜