40cm square acrylic and mixed media on board
References: Hip Hotel Cover; Memory of Anguilan architecture; White Lotus
Browsing in my local Op-Shop I chanced upon an old copy of Hip Hotels with the cover photo of an infinity pool with a white lion sculpture overlooking a dazzling blue ocean. This reminded me of the prominent very angular and very bright white villas you can see from the sea on your way around the western end of the island of Anguila in the Carribbean.
They were designed by the architect Myron Goldfinger in the late 1990s and described as “geometric castles in the sand”, with a profusion of triangles, semicircles and rectangular shapes” by Architectural Digest.
The colour, shapes and the sea perspective appealed as I love creating little intricate worlds with the particular emphasis on how we live by the sea.
I wanted to capture that tantalising cover shot photograph of the inifinity pool: the allure of the sea, ultra-luxe architecture and pampered manicured landscaping. However, in my world buildings are intentionally shabby chic with the faded grandeur of old money. To live at the sea is to be at the mercy of the elements, the salt forever rusting metal; the erosion and shifting of sand the ultimate testiment to decay and atrophy. Painted in August 2024