This new body of work sees Gardiner’s focus shift from the ocean’s depths to the boundaries between land and sea, like ragged lines on a map, distinguishing one world from another. This transition manifests in a series of abstract collage paintings and representational ocean-scapes seemingly rescued from beneath an archaeology of layers. The illusion of depth is contrasted by an exaggerated flatness; a comfort, safety and familiarity with the ocean, set against a backdrop of isolation and alienation.

In and out of breath was born out of both fear and discovery. It traces a line between safety and anxiety. For Gardiner, making art is a lonely and tumultuous process, akin to crossing a  threshold into the unknown, with the violent act of tearing or destroying resulting in something new and beautiful.