Dark Memories: Artist paints bleak but appealing city and landscapes from memory

He explains: "I do not seek to illustrate a particular place in point of fact, but rather develop and ultimately ‘make‘ a version of the world seen through the isolation of personal memories. The mind/body distinction – the phenomena of the mind seeming to look out at the world from behind the eyes – forms the basis of my attempt to understand and record the world through my own consciousness.

"The paintings in particular are works of memory – the slow development or exposure of a photograph being both a useful metaphor and an actuality in my practice. The filter of memory appears to retain only what is personally important, and the inevitable mix of my own history and experience fills in the gaps. Only that which remains is important – the extraneous and fleeting are not registered. The final image is therefore a remnant, the world distilled. This remembered world inevitably fades and decays, and I catch all I can before there is nothing left. This is my starting point."

To discover more about Mark, who's based in Peterborough and also loves photography as well as his painting, visit markthompson-artist.com. Or check out his profile on Art Finder.