­*Classics, Re-worked, Jane Perkins*

In my current body of work, Plastic Classics, Old Masters are given a contemporary twist. The 3D nature of Van Gogh’s thickly applied paint, which he squirted straight from the tube, lends itself perfectly to re-interpretation using found materials.

I love art with an element of fun and the unexpected. I use random small objects: plastic toys, shells, beads, buttons. No colour is added to any of the materials— they are exactly ‘as found.’ My work needs to be viewed in 2 ways: from a distance (to recognize the whole image) and close up (to identify the materials).

I am a great fan of Picasso, who had lots of quirky ideas and carried them out. I love his Head of a Bull, made from the handlebars and saddle of an old bicycle. The Picasso museum in Paris is full of unknown works such as collections of beach debris, assemblages from scrap metal, and a plaster cast of crumpled cloth.