Early Doors layers paint, relief, and collage to depict rows of terraced houses, silhouetted figures, and shifting perspectives inspired by Lowry. The chest’s original stamps and lettering remain visible, with one trade mark reimagined as a fanlight above a door, linking global trade to the intimate streetscapes of Manchester. A restrained palette and textured surfaces convey the rhythm and grit of city life, inviting viewers to explore the layers of story and movement.
The work is built on a vintage tea chest veneer of birch, date-stamped 1980, originally from the Deckiajuli tea estate in India. Constructed from birch planted around 1920, the chest carried strong black Assam tea over 6,500 miles to the UK, later finding a second life in a Nottingham charity shop holding brushes and brooms. Its material history and journey now merge with the artwork, adding depth, resonance, and a subtle dialogue between global and local narratives.
