Artist statement
Concepts
My constructions reflect my admiration for the natural world. I expand the minutiae of plant and sea life to challenge and dominate the viewer on a human scale. A 5cm developing leaf becomes a 2m sculpture. 'Coelenterates' were first constructed for a gallery commission as an installation, they are based on sea coral. I have since refined my construction techniques and continued making similar forms in a variety of sizes for display in landscape and gallery settings.
Influences
Inspiration comes from snorkelling and scuba diving over coral reefs. The rich patchwork of texture and form seen in the reef, together with the diversity of sea life inform and stimulate me. The characteristics of wild and cultivated plants are also starting points for sculpture. Mine is a personal creative journey, uninfluenced by others. I like the paintings of Graham Sutherland and sculpture of Alexander Calder.
Career path
Degree in Fine Art from Kent University. Exhibited throughout the country and in the USA. Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors. I have run workshops, given illustrated talks, received commissions and been interviewed for Sky TV and the Financial Times.
Solo exhibitions
- 2012 Natural Selection, 10 Gresham St, London EC2
- 2010 Exhibition, The Medicine Garden, Surrey
- 2006 Broken Boundaries, Sevenoaks gallery, Sevenoaks
- 2003 Natural Selection, Gallery by the Lake, Southwark Park, London
- 2003 Natural Balance, Maidstone Gallery, Maidstone Kent
- 2001 Worthing Museum, Sussex
- 2001 Fountains at Cabbages and Kings, Hadlow Down, Sussex
- 1999 Calendar Work, Shelmex House, London
- 1998 Felt, Royal Engineers Museum, Gillingham
- 1996 Red House Museum, Christchurch
- 1995 Permanently Pleated, Trinity Arts, Tunbridge Wells
- 1995 Sculpture in the Gardens, Mount Ephraim Gardens, Faversham
Group exhibitions
- 2012 Art Space, Barn Galleries, Henley-on-Thames
- 2011 Sculpture Alfresco, Great Fosters, Egham
- 2011 Fresh Air, Quennington Sculpture Trust, Gloucestershire
- 2010 Summer Exhibition, Hannah Peschard Sculpture Garden, Surrey
- 2009 Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London
- 2007 Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London
- 2007 18 @ 108, Summer Exhibition, Royal Bristish Society of Sculptors, London & Malmesbury, Wiltshire
- 2006 Art and the Senses, Oxford University, Oxford
- 2006 Newby Hall Sculpture Park, Newby Hall, Ripon, Yorkshire
- 2006 Paperworks, Bury Art Gallery, Bury
- 2005 Radio 4 and the Artist, Bankside Gallery, London
- 2005 Pulp Fantasy, Visual Arts Institute, Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire
- 2005 Royal British Society of Sculptors, Centenary Exhibition, Leicester University, Leicester
- 2005 Fresh Air, Quennington Sculpture Trust, Gloucestershire
- 2004 Fiberart International '04, Centre For Art, Pittsburgh, USA
- 2004 Fiberart International '04, Museum of Arts and Design, New York, USA
- 2004 Fiberart Internaional '04, Arts Centre, Seattle, USA
- 2004 Fantastic Plastics, 20-21 Visual Arts Centre, Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire
- 2003 Material Spaces, Tullie House, Carlisle, Cumbria
- 2003 Sculpture Park, Newby Hall, Ripon, Yorkshire
- 2001 Fiberart International 2001, Pittsburgh, USA
- 2001 On Paper, Crafts Council Gallery, London
- 2001 External Works 2001, Excel, London
- 2001 Covent Garden Festival, London
- 2001 Royal Society of British Sculptors summer exhibition, London
- 1998 Viewpoints, Artsway, Sway, Hampshire
- 1998 Elemental!, Towner Gallery, Eastbourne
- 1997 Henley Festival, Henley on Thames, Oxon
- 1996 Build It!, Brewery Arts, Kendal, Cumbria
- 1996 Natural Selection, Wysing Arts, Cambridge
Projects
Publications
- 2011 How to Spend It, The Financial Times
- 2003 Textile Perspectives in Mixed Media Sculpture
