Artist Statement
"I am intrigued as to how past experiences impact on our lives in the present and how my past informs my view of the world."
"Seven-eighths of the story will always remains underwater."
Rowell's images offer us an opportunity, as in psychoanalysis, to peel back the many layers, the narrative of the past, to reveal hidden knowledge that exists within us all. By incorporating his study of psychodynamic theory with his art and by way of articulating often-dark lonely spaces, he moves between the figurative and the abstract, maintaining a sense of disturbance that emanates from the work.
His practice has always been informed and inspired by other's own sense of reality. Rowell is fundamentally interested in issues of the sub-conscience and it's "outing", revealing the inner world in a deep and perceptive way.
Through the very nature of the subject matter, this work is poised emotionally on the edge of naivety, but the sophistication of the work holds the technical precision of a man deeply involved in his craft for 30 years.
Recently exhibiting alongside Melanie Manchot, Paul Hill and Tom Hunter, Rowell's present project depicts a series of memories from childhood. The work exposes these early experiences, giving them expression and form, which for many years had been repressed. This photographic exploration of constructed tales along with the text creates a powerful and honest look at his past. The photographic exploration while being a type of self portraiture, as he is also the subject in the frame, challenges sentimental images of childhood and how powerful the use of photography can uncover buried events.
