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About This Work
"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better."
— Samuel Beckett
This painting comes back to Samuel Beckett's famous quote, but this time focuses on a different part of the story than No Matter. While the previous work hides the words almost completely, (Ever Failed) No Matter allows a bit more breathing space, and leaves the words NO MATTER clearly legible.
Although ‘fail better’ is often remembered as the key line of the quote, I've always been more interested in the part that comes before it. I think the hardest part about trying again is realising and accepting that the original failure isn't the end of the world. Before you can try again, you have to dust yourself off first and say, no matter…
The same typographic system runs through this work, with letters layered to create a dense visual field. But here the composition is calmer and cooler, like the feeling you get after the frustration has dissipated, when you stop beating yourself up and decide to try again.
Essentially, this painting is about letting go of the weight we attach to failure, and acknowledges our imperfect efforts.