Jo Hummel’s work is characterised by a painted and collaged paper surface in which she employs spontaneous variations of space, colour and form.

Although her pictorial collages have a physical and material character, the context is deliberately anthropological and Hummel’s works are inspired by human habits and behaviour, with a special interest in determinism and free will, as well as formal concerns.

Her practice functions as a simulation of decision-making experiences that allow her to capture and utilise sensations such as anxiety or serenity.

And it is through these contradictory emotional states of comfort, satisfaction, anxiety, repulsion, etc., that Hummel is able to tap into the state of human uncertainty that is felt everywhere. The social structures in which we operate guide and interfere with how we feel and what we choose to do on a daily basis. Social class, religion, gender and ethnicity influence what we find pleasant or unpleasant.

The nature of collage is that throughout its creation the work is constantly changing. The artist must negotiate the canvas by rearranging, choosing and adjusting, often over long periods and having explored hundreds, even thousands of the infinite possible outcomes. In this way, the creative process itself is as important as the final result.

Jo Hummel works in her studio on the Isle of Wight, a place that helps her to make the creative process a moment of meditation.