Ryoanji, the temple of the Peaceful Dragon, houses one of Japan’s most renowned gardens. The garden contains fifteen stones but it’s impossible to see them all at once. The garden signifies that perfection, the pursuit of viewing all the stones simultaneously, is unattainable. Visitors can only observe from a distance as they are forbidden to walk among the stones. What we cannot see and touch seems more captivating.

Stephen’s artworks are meditations on the treasures of the unattainable. We can observe, but only enter through our minds. The artworks are made using photography, painting, precision drawing and digital layering.