Interstate 45 is a 284 mile stretch of road running from Galveston to Dallas in a desolate area of south Texas. In the time from 1971 to 2012, 31 females aged from 12 to 57 have gone missing and in the majority of cases have subsequently been found murdered, in some instances up to 14 months later. They are perhaps the result of one or more serial killers - or maybe, as the consequence of a series of one off murders. The varying response to these unfortunate people is the real story behind this collection.

Revisiting the theme of the ‘missing’ - this series focuses on not only the sympathy and concern from the police and the families involved but also that of the viewer.

The back story of these subjects (fictitious victims in the paintings) and of the actual people in reality almost dictate the human response - unjustly of course. To emphasise this the technique of painting and drawing changes in accordance with the subject to solicit a different emotion and response from the viewer. For instance the young woman in No 4 is perhaps a 19 year old from Hispanic origin forced into prostitution who goes missing from the motel and ends up a statistic of Interstate 45. She is painted / drawn roughly with harsh contrasts and textures with a confrontational expression. By contrast the young woman in No 1 is perhaps someone who has just disappeared after a gymkhana or a cheerleader rehearsal. She is painted in warm inviting and comforting colours with a pleasant look in her face and yet ends up in her one and only film shown in an adult movie theatre on 42nd street, before finding her resting place in a shallow grave along Interstate 45. 

Who do you have more sympathy for? Who do the police plough more resources into? Why should there be a difference? Isn't the sanctity of life the great leveler?

This collection is a fresh look at the victims of disappearances, but also a question of how these victims are filtered and regarded by the public, the media and by law enforcement.

Artist's note:
Once more we see colours of run down hotel corridors and pornographic movie theatres in 1970s New York. The typefaces are copied from the original period signage, the collage of torn images signify a trend in movie credits of the late 60s and mid 70s, a cinematic view of grit – but with disregard for the real.

The girls partially painted and drawn – fade in and out of their background – they are present but not really there; their starting point so very far away from their never to be found resting place.

1970s typewriter fonts, stamps, imagery and actual newspaper clippings fill in the picture of a short lived life led and lost. A faded memory, a small selection of items left for the families of the disappeared.

The embroidery hoops are tasked to throw off the viewer. The use of an item symbolising home craft for girls and women requiring skill, patience and time – should surely not be used to frame such tragedy? The vintage fabrics used – a reminder of the innocence of youth, a small tragic final vestige of one daughter’s childhood.