artist statement

As an artist, I work in paint, mixed media and sound to capture subjects that stimulate my reflection on ecology, environmental or social justice. Surrounded by rural landscape, I find myself drawn to people, places and plants often considered unimportant or marginal to mainstream modern life. My work, whether in paint, mixed media or sound, foregrounds less significant sights and sounds from my local surroundings, often embedded in a complex network of relationships.

Most recently, my work has focussed on two local freshwater reed-beds that have been restored following saline incursion during tidal floods. This wetland environment is constantly in flux, demonstrating resilience in beauty and beauty in resilience.

My current working process involves spending many hours sitting low down amongst the reeds, in all conditions of wind and weather coming off the estuary. My drawings and sound recordings are an intuitive response to the changing environment as I experience it. These are then worked up into finished pieces, raising awareness of this unique freshwater wetland environment, which is home to several habitat specific species such as the Bittern and Cetti’s Warbler, as well as multiple invertebrates. My extensive study of the reed-bed ecology has shown me that oft-disregarded organisms underpin entire ecosystems; and the importance of reed-beds to our environment and wellbeing. Living with multiple disabilities, my access to and view of the rural environment is from a particular angle. My low viewing position (sitting amongst the reeds) and my acute observation of power dynamics means I am drawn to those small, overlooked things that nestle in the landscape. I work these into my paintings through complex layers and networks indicative of the wider context in which I find them. In my acoustic pieces, sounds which are small or hard to hear are foregrounded and layered in a web of interactions that hint at the interdependence of nature and the multiplicity of place.