Natasha McCraith

“Oh no, don’t go in there” is often a line heard when considering exploring an abandoned building. But what if we do go in? Will we find a place purely of neglect and decay or can there be beauty found in this act of abandonment? My work explores these themes ever present at the abandoned ‘Horse and Groom’ Pub, which has been left as both man and nature’s playground. This series of watercolour paintings investigates this space, along with themes of vandalism through the extensive graffiti art present here. It is a place that is constantly changing as artists and explorers come and go while its exposure to the elements creates equal impact, taking the site continuously further from its original use as a busy roadside pub.

Watercolour is used due to its transparent qualities, reflecting themes of decay. There is a psycho-geographic element to the work, as found objects are explored alongside this. This combines my two visits to the site, in which the graffiti changed each time. I reflect this in an artist’s book to convey the ever-changing nature of this abandoned space, in which a lack of ownership allows it to be reclaimed by nature. This is culminated in my exhibition display in which three large scale paintings are neatly presented, before being vandalised themselves by graffiti art. My aim of this body of work is to invite the viewer to find the same curiosity in this space as I had when I originally visited it.

Graffiti and drawings of found objects are combined with my paintings here to depict the on-going evolution of this place. Each painting depicts the site from my first visit, in contrast to the graffiti which had vandalised each scene by my second visit. Found objects range from general rubbish to boots and a broken racket head, depicting remnants of human occupation in this unregulated space.

View it here: https://fliphtml5.com/ywglz/eotp