I graduated in 2010 with a BA (Hons) Degree in Fine Art from the University for the Creative Arts in Canterbury. I have exhibited across the UK and have been shortlisted for the Holt Festival Art Prize and have work in the permanent collection; East Contemporary Art, housed at the Water Front Gallery at the University of Suffolk.
I am currently Studying a Post Graduate Programme in Creative Practice with Artpocket UK, an independent Art School based in Norwich. This is an intensive year long course that is helping me refocus and challenge my practice, as I am aiming towards studying a Masters Degree.
My practice explores concepts of memory and time by making drawings from old photographs, currently, the memories I explore are from my childhood. I draw into a Gessoed surface with a graphite pencil to make a relief, which I call gesso drawings, and by making a mark into the surface I am echoing making a mark on time. I then shade in some of the surface with the graphite pencil and leave some of the gesso showing through, acting as a gateway to allow the audience into the image but also showing the fragility of memories.
One of my biggest influences was becoming interested in museums and how they preserve the history of a generation in a collective memory. As an Artist I feel a deep desire to make art as a way of exploring myself and the world, and an even deeper desire to communicate that with other people and be understood, which is why my work is so personal. Alongside my drawings I have been making books, which contain a memory from myself, my parents and my Grandparents, with each memory book relating to a Gesso drawing. By including memories from my family I am trying to create that dialog with myself and others by allowing them into my memories to hopefully create a collective memory with their interaction with my work. Writing has become important in my practice by exploring language with imagery. It’s almost as if one can’t be used without the other, each medium complementing one another, which allows me to go deeper into the memory.
As a Buddhist, exploring memory and time has become important with exploring impermanence. Impermanence is the Buddhist view that existence is in a constant state of change. I find this very exciting and see each moment as being reborn into the next, which helps me feel more present, as my practice involves constantly looking back. But reminding myself of impermanence I look back to my memories to help me understand why I am the way I am now, helping me to feel more present. Last year I went on the Buddhafield Yatra Retreat (Yatra meaning to walk), which was a walking pilgrimage from Reading to Stonehenge over the course of a week. We had periods of silent mindful walking, during which I took photographs to record our journey. In 2013 I have been making a new series of Gesso drawings based on this journey. I found this space very inspiring, and brought it into my art practice in connection with memory with my own walks as well as with other people. (There are some photos on the ‘Yatra’ page of some walks that I have co lead with the Norwich Buddhist Centre.) I reflect on having my own experience amongst a collective experience, this helps me feel more interconnected and less separate as we are all going in the same direction but on our own path.
