Mandy Payne

For Mandy Payne the important concerns within her paintings are materiality, surface textures and facture. She wants to work with materials that have a physical connection to the sites she depicts, namely concrete and spray paint (referencing the graffiti).

Her work suggests that ‘the built’ is in fact a form of nature. Mandy’s use of concrete, a material associated with the ‘made’, which main components actually derive from nature; sand and water, recognise the hidden roots that intertwine and connect us with the natural world. The natural environment where artist’s materials derive from, is in direct relation to the urbanisation of the natural environment. 

Payne is inspired by urban landscape, issues of gentrification, inequality, social housing and the flux of city environments. She is interested in Brutalist architecture, modernism, notions of utopia/dystopia and finding beauty in the ordinary/overlooked.

"I wanted to document the estate in transition and also for the work to speak of the loss and displacement of the existing communities. I am interested in issues of gentrification, social housing and the flux of the urban environment. I am inspired by the spaces people inhabit, the traces they leave and the capacity of places to absorb memories and experiences. I am particularly drawn to locations that are in a transitional state, that are overlooked or derided."