Bailey’s abstract work is sculptural in essence, motivated by her fascination and exploration of irreducible form: That which can not be reduced or simplified.
Characteristically monochromatic, but not exclusively, they evolve from a single base. Paint is applied organically and intuitively, layers upon layers give a depth and richness that capture lightness and darkness, and all that lies in between.
Paint is just one of many materials and objects which make up these remarkable works, for Bailey is a curator of the beauty of simplicity. She incorporates found objects and materials to create a therapeutic resolution in her practice. Her quest for the irreducible is expressed through motifs and totems, incised and overlaid, punctuated with marks and actions. Sometimes deliberate, sometimes random and expressive.
The result is a rugged yet sensitive landscape, overlaid with rough textures and moving surfaces reminiscent of the charm of faded buildings and architecture, crumbling plaster and peeling paint. Her works are abstract, expansive, immersive. She describes her practice as an “Expressive textural response to existence”. They celebrate a journey.