For a number of years, Edward Woodley has been using signage as an inspiration for his artwork. But now, having thoroughly explored the imagery of signwriting, both in his art and commercial work, he attempts to reject it. In a symbolic gesture, he scrunches up photographs of source material and works from previous exhibitions before, seemingly, tossing them away. But, discovering that it’s impossible to escape the past, he examines the cast-offs in his new body of work, closely observing the folds, the faults and shadows of the crumpled paper. In doing so, the typography becomes distorted and loses its original purpose – language and meaning are rendered irrelevant as the letters are transformed into mere shapes. In his commercial work, he aims for consistency; here, his brushstrokes are much looser, more textural, as the work tends towards abstraction. With their three-dimensional qualities, the paintings reveal Woodley’s interest in sculptural installations – an artform he usually incorporates in his shows. And, in the same way he exploits existing source material and influences for this body of work, he also intentionally uses only what he had to hand in his studio (often left by artists he has collaborated with), to produce the paintings.