Since university I seem to be dealt my flashes of inspiration at the gym. On the treadmill, looking out the window, flushed and feeling the burn, it hits me. Idea after idea after idea. The solution to last night’s problem. How I’m going to make money. What to draw next, see next, do next. What to have for tea. I look around, to see if anyone else is wide-eyed with promise, like are you guys getting this!? They generally just look focused and determined while I’m anything but, desperately resisting the urge to run home and start work on a new project.
These plentiful Eureka! nuggets reverberating around my noggin may be generated as a remedial distraction from my body’s external pain, or simply a reward for getting out of bed and into some trainers.
Of course it could just be the lack of oxygen reaching my brain, the gym has a gas leak, or ASDA sports drink is made too close to a radioactive power plant, but whatever the reason – I need to start taking a notebook.
Byng was christened a Louise after the first female world rally champion Louise Aitken-Walker. She has an arguably perverse fascination with mundane scenes and everyday activity, continually extracting the poetry and little specks of beauty to be found within life’s details. Through drawing she playfully channels her curiosity in a tactile way, driven by a desire to learn more about the world; its majesty and flaws alike.