Below the surface

ARCHITECTUREPLATFORM is pleased to feature the autobiography of Lee Campbell. She is an artist based in London, UK and a managing group member of ARCHITECTUREPLATFORM.

I am an artist based on Eel Pie Island in the River Thames where I paint predominately in oils and welcome visitors to my studio/gallery.

Some years ago I was employed by the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, in Greater London as their Artist in Residence and despite being initially overwhelmed by the diverse and fascinating research that was taking place, I eventually found inspiration in the images of metal fatigue that the scientists were examining.

‘Layers’ oil on canvas 60cm x 76cm

I produced a body of work for an exhibition based on this research and images of rust with specks of paint seen through a confocal microscope.

‘Corrosion I’ oil on canvas 60cm x 60cm

I also worked with Dr. Gianluca Memoli who was researching bubbles and the corrosive heat produced when the bubbles pop. For example, the size of bubbles in products such as colas that were taken into space to be consumed by NASA astronauts in zero gravity had to be made smaller.

‘Bubbles I’ oil on canvas 60cm x 60cm

Working in this rich environment has continued to inspire me and when faced with a large blank canvas earlier this year I was reminded of the ‘metal fatigue’ images so, using this and some photos of unusual rock formations I had taken on holiday in San Sebastian, Spain I explored what layers of textures might suggest when mixed with images of gems such as opals and ancient fossils. The results are a series of paintings investigating what lies below the surface.

‘Cretaceous’ oil on canvas 130cm x 130cm

‘Stratum’ Oil on canvas 76cm x 100cm

Although they are not completely abstract they have attracted a great deal of attention and positive comments and I was commissioned to make a larger version of ‘Stratum’.
I have also been looking below the surface of tropical oceans inspired by the horrific images of plastic pollution and an unforgettable trip in a submersible over the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.