Artist statement
The paintings centre themselves on aspects of interior and exterior space, mainly that of modern commercial and institutional space. The space that informs the work is mainly personal to myself in that there is a memory or a sense of nostalgia; this is needed for a psychological engagement to occur, from which work is made.
The work hovers between the abstract and the real, holding a sense of the recognisable but at the same time distorting the truth enabling the viewer to project their own narrative onto the paintings. The spatial logic is disrupted and disorientates the viewer, prompting a second glance at everyday spaces that are often overlooked.
Light and reflection are immensely important to the space within the paintings, particularly seen in the most recent work. It was important for these to be small, almost quiet paintings, containing a hard structure and fragmented feel but at the same time having a subtlety evoked by the light, illuminating edges, altering perceptions, and suggesting a space elsewhere, a space beyond the edge of the painting.
The paintings are about a certain kind of space but at the same time interact with the space in which they are contained. I want the viewer to be drawn into the paintings and be seduced by their surfaces, but at the same time feel a sense of unease, a sense that everything is not as it should be.
Qualifications and training
- 2004 MA Fine Art, Chelsea College of Art, London
- 2003 BA Hons Fine Art, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester
- 1999 Foundation Art, Blackpool and the Fylde College, Blackpool
Solo exhibitions
- 2006 solo show, PAD Gallery, Preston
- 2005 Stairway show, The Harris Art Gallery, Preston
Group exhibitions
- 2009 Squeegee Dragger, Halb Acht Gallery, Hamburg, Germany
- 2007 Prestival, The Watermark studios, studio 16,, Preston (more info)
- 2007 Building Solutions, Mind, London (more info)
- 2006 Innercity living, Market street, Preston
- 2006 The 16th Mostyn Open Exhibition, Oriel Mostyn Gallery, Llandudno Wales
- 2006 Group show, Gallery 23, Lancaster
- 2005 Innercity Living Exhibition, The Old Bank, Preston
- 2003 Cobweb, Holden gallery, Manchester
- 2003 Art Futures, Contemporary Art Society, London
- 2002 Northern Graduates, The New Academy Gallery, London
Curated projects
- 2007 Art of Noise, PAD Gallery, Preston (more info)
Competitions, prizes and awards
- 2007 Art Gene open exhibition, Art Gene, Barrow-in-Furness (more info)
- 2007 Celeste Art Prize, Old Truman Brewery, London (more info)
- 2006 The 16th Mostyn Open Exhibition, Oriel Mostyn Gallery, Llandudno Wales (more info)
