Dayna-Gay Tate

Inspired by and drawn to quiet moments and in-betweens, I make to see them and honour them. I make to give things time that would otherwise be run over or run past; I am certain that we move through the present too violently.

My heartbreak cry is for a slower pace, a gentle return to an awareness of myself ––ourselves; in wholeness of soul, body and spirit. It’s a tragedy, this thing of busyness. Honoring the in-betweens brings fullness and extension to the ‘main’ moments, and for me they become the main moments. 

My in-betweens and quiet captures are often enveloped by the pace and presence of nature and therefore natural, botanical, and earthen elements nuance much of my work. Nature inspires me to play, and the organic and unhurried way of nature is often what motivates my work. 

Most of my pieces are embedded with playful abstraction and an exploration of the shapes and colours I find in the botanical moments around me. My paintings are all created from my imagination and layers of memory. It is often that I paint places I have never been, and for me this speaks to a longing for quiet and a longing for the untouched landscapes I wish I could inhabit.