As I work primarily with found material, magazines etc, I took a lot of photographs, as I was keen to bring aspects of Rome directly into my work. Therefore my collages began to incorporate elements of Rome, such as the staircase of Zaha Hadid’s Maxxi, the coffered ceiling in the Pantheon, and classical sculpture.

Prior to undertaking the Abbey Scholarship, I was making large paintings of fragmented figures in collaged environments. These had developed initially from fragmented portraits called ‘misfits’ that I have been making for some time. I had wanted to create full bodied paintings within environments to give a sense of context to the misfits. Then I wanted to take it a step further and remove the figures, and just focus on bringing together fragments of architectural spaces.

The studio itself at the BSR was excellent. I very much appreciated the renovations to the bathroom in the studio, and the path which was laid to access the back gate. They were of huge benefit and made the BSR accessible, and I am pleased, if in turn, it is useful for other disabled artists and scholars in the future.

— David Lock