The direction of attention is, contrary to nature, outward, away from self which reduces all to a false unity, towards the great surprising variety of the world, and the ability so to direct attention is love. (Iris Murdoch, The Sovereignty of Good)

------- A New Zealand lockdown far from home provided unexpected time for reflection on what matters most in a time of complexity and uncertainty, and on how we can create our best life in these circumstances. The title of the work is a quote from the inspiring philosophy of Iris Murdoch on art, goodness, and love. I continued my art practice on the floor of a rented apartment. A collage became a plate for hand-pressed printmaking, using very fluid acrylic paint in just two colours – indigo and burnt umber. These are the colours that I mix to make black; here they were allowed to interact, on the plate and in the pressing on to very smooth card. Under conditions of controlled chance, the pressing produced strange organic landscapes with gradations of near-black. At a certain point after pressing, the still-wet print was carefully blotted with mulberry paper to adjust the texture of the paint areas. Once dry, a scarlet painted strip of card was collaged on to the print, balancing colour and composition. Scarlet is a signature colour in my painting, often used for an 'alter ego' figure. The print thus also speaks to the loneliness of lockdown as the pandemic raged around us. Four such prints were made, each very different, before the exploration of process took the work on to new possibilities.