Artist Statement
I am a visual artist, specialist in installation, printmaking & painting. I studied at Liverpool John Moores University & achieved a First Class Honors Degree in Fine Art, the LJMU Award for Achievement in the Face of Adversity, & the Susan Cotton Award for Artist Travel, in 2012. I also have an MA in Education & Social Research from the University of Sheffield (1999) as I was an Education Manager & Special Education lecturer for twenty years, in a past life. As a creative originator of ideas; I plan, produce & present art projects, events, & pop-up happenings & curate emerging artist exhibitions on a regular basis. I am a founding artist member of the Lemon Collective & a volunteer Technician at the Bluecoat Print Studios. I am registered disabled.
My work as an artist explores relationships & opposing interfaces, that provide for the creation of an aesthetic vocabulary & visual narrative, encapsulating themes such as the affects of globalization, political unrest, migration, environmental concerns in cities, social inequalities, & social rituals. These issues have a particular resonance for me & I will continue to engage with them and provide a 'voice' for them, through artistic references to the current political & social discourse, within my immediate location of Liverpool, nationally & internationally. My art is therefore often narrative, colourful & zany, but always accessible. Printmaking is my passion, influenced by contemporary artists such as Barbara Rae, Paula Rego, and Zarina Bhimji. In the coming months, I will be researching & developing relegated old methods, innovative new ‘print’ techniques & materials, & building print maker collaborations, in order to further my art practice. I shall continue with the exploration of migrant memories of 'home', & am creating new print work with reference to austerity.
