Siobhan Punshon in Profile

Siobhan Punshon's interest in shipping charts was generated when she purchased a book on coastal navigation.   She immediately responded to the graphic nature of the chart, which represent land and sea from an aerial perspective and define not only what is above the surface, but also below.   The symbolic and abstract qualities of the chart are further emphasised in her paintings by the juxtaposition of two charts over the top of one another.
The charts Siobhan uses for her work have been rescued from the bottom drawer of a merchant ships bridge which have been cancelled and replaced with an updated version
Siobhan associates the charts with an old fashioned notion of travel and discovery, a somewhat romantic vision of danger and adventure, when little was known about the world and the only way to experience it was aboard the high seas.  She has an image of a compliment of artist, naturalist and botanist on board a creaking square rigged ship, anxiously anticipating another journey to a foreign land in order to study, collect and marvel at nature.
Siobhan's paintings reflect this quixotic notion of the past with a contemporary interpretation.