Stephen Walter

Each of my works is an intricate world in itself, a tangle of words and symbols that make up a complex of hidden meanings and wider contradictions. My practice is an exploration into the meaning of place, the glory of maps and the legacy that we bequeath to future generations.

The use of words and epithets are often taken from things heard and read. This work uses traditional aesthetics and familiar symbolism, lulling the viewer into a false sense of understanding. Closer analysis reveals a myriad of comments that question the psychology of landscape and our relationship to it. The clash between personal vision and its interaction with a wider reality forms the crux of my investigation into notions of real and imaginary places.

In 2008, I produced a whistle-stop ‘warts and all’ tour of Liverpool where I began to translate its character onto paper, its quirks, idiosyncrasies and stereotypes into a celebration of place. It highlights many of Liverpool’s main roads, railway lines, built-up areas and green spaces, with an enlarged section of the city centre. Such a study inevitably drew me towards the story of Stuart Sutcliffe as one of Liverpool’s cultural characters and the inclusion of him is a tribute to his memory.