Blackpool born, Chris’s passion for beach-combing has persisted throughout her life leading on to her recent assemblages and artworks using bones and found objects.
Chris takes us on a thought provoking exploration of the discarded, in particular bones, oxidized metal, pottery and glass fragments and textiles. It is a focus for the minutiae of life that we fail to value or even notice. A broken fragment of bone can become an icon, a jewel, a miniature landscape, a sculpture or an essay in colour and texture. Some found objects may suggest a shamanic or religious significance, resembling relics and can provoke a spiritual response,
Chris’s very personal approach to her art is born through her passion for foraging and retrieving the spent or discarded . To Chris the beaches of the Lancashire coast, the Yorkshire coast, the river Thames, Barbados and the Western Isles are vast repositories of source material to be sifted and collated later.
Chris is a full time artist . Her work encompasses sculpture and assemblages using a variety of media, including found objects, printmaking, painting, drawing, and she works with her husband Paul on contemporary and historical commissions internationally.
Chris shares a studio with her husband, artist Paul Czainski, at Luddenden, near Hebden Bridge and at Staithes on the Yorkshire coast.
"My work with found objects feels as though it is rooted at a very deep level. It is a powerful and satisfying process and the finished objects can have a resonance for others.
I forage for lost objects on the riverbank and seashore. I can usually think of a use for them immediately and I am conscious of the fact that they often belonged to someone and have a past, consequently some of the things that I find seem to demand respect. They need to be honoured in some way, perhaps become reminiscent of a memorial or reliquary.
My impulse is to collect, preserve and honour the objects. I have been collecting in this way for some time now, ten years at least! It all began with bits of pottery on a beach . The pottery fired my imagination because it was a remnant of people’s lives."
I forage for lost objects on the riverbank and seashore. I can usually think of a use for them immediately and I am conscious of the fact that they often belonged to someone and have a past, consequently some of the things that I find seem to demand respect. They need to be honoured in some way, perhaps become reminiscent of a memorial or reliquary.
My impulse is to collect, preserve and honour the objects. I have been collecting in this way for some time now, ten years at least! It all began with bits of pottery on a beach . The pottery fired my imagination because it was a remnant of people’s lives."