Artist statement
Concepts
My practice explores the enigma of our existence, revealed in our ways of being, our relationship with our environs and the marks we leave behind.
I am an innate researcher who has not lost the child-like curiosity and wonder about the world. I take risks and confront boundaries both in concept and materials so my work is not a surface dressing - it has an oblique potency that acknowledges the world’s dark underbelly, and acts as a catalyst for igniting debate. The emphasis on research and questioning has avoided a myopic narrative, delivering an informed dynamism that maintains freshness in my practice.
Current research
Toxicology - School of Built and Natural Environment, University of Central Lancashire
The concept I am currently researching with scientists at UCLan is the contemplation of a fractured reality: the relationship between contaminated environs and the anthropocentric compass. Mapping our hidden impacts on the planet has demanded the re-examining of the commonplace - a cognitive reconfiguring of the ‘common ground’ we all share. One of the truly hidden landscapes is that of the invisible toxic air we breathe, laden with chemicals and vapours that with sinister intent dance around our environment. The perpetual paradox is that whilst we have created this hidden, alchemic landscape its attributes of dangerous pollution and contamination are those, which display highly visible evidence in humans.
Both as metaphor and in material selection, my artistic responses focus on brooding degradation: peeling layers inviting a meditation on the narrative exposed.
“The foundation of my practice is underpinned by the questioning of those issues that drive a world without a sense of equilibrium”.
Employment
- 2006 Mentor for budding artists working in education., Creative Futures, Cumbria
- 1999 Part-time lecturer, School of Art, Design and Performance, University of Central Lancashire, Preston
- 1999 Part-time lecturer, School of Drawing, University of Cumbria, Carlisle, Cumbria
- 1999 Part-time lecturer, Art department, Carlisle College, Carlisle, Cumbria
Solo exhibitions
- 2013 Beautiful Dystopias, PR1 Gallery, Victoria Building, UCLan campus, Preston
- 2012 Excess, University of Central Lancashire, Preston
- 2011 Flesh and Blood, Showcase, Penrith, Cumbria
- 2011 Inside Change, 50A Gallery, Egremont, Cumbria
- 2009 Excess:Experiments in Living, Collins Gallery, Glasgow
- 2007 EAT, Customs House Gallery, South Shields (more info)
- 2006 EAT, Warehouse Gallery, Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal, Cumbria
- 2005 Feast, GMEX Centre, Manchester
- 2002 Journeys of Discovery, Queens Hall Arts, Hexham
- 2001 Wasted - Are You Sitting Comfortably?, Tuille House Museum and Art Gallery & Dock Museum, Carlisle & Barrow
- 2000 Soft Touch, Fat Hen Gallery, Caldbeck, Cumbria
- 2000 Eco House, Brampton, Cumbria
- 2000 Soft Pots, Manchester Craft and Design Centre
Group exhibitions
- 2012 Open West, Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucester
- 2011 Small, Mill Yard Gallery, Staveley, Cumbria
- 2011 12, Rhegd Art Gallery, Penrith, Cumbria
- 2010 Found, Royal British Society of Sculptors Gallery, 108 Old Brompton Road, London
- 2010 Climate Change, Rhyl Arts Centre, Rhyl
- 2009 FRED temporary public art invasion, Mill Stone Cafe, Little Salkeld, Cumbria
- 2009 Love London Sculpture Show, London Wetland Centre, Barnes, London
- 2008 Small, Mill Yard Studios, Staveley, Cumbria
- 2008 Eat for Fred, Gillams Cafe, Ulverston
- 2008 Reworked 2, Washington Gallery, Penarth
- 2007 EAT..., FRED, Cumbria
- 2007 LOCAL, Mill Yard, Staveley, Cumbria
- 2007 Spectrum RBS, Abbey House Gardens, Malmesbury, Wiltshire
- 2007 18@108, Royal British Society of Sculptors, London
- 2006 Hello Dotty 2!, FRED, art invasion throughout Cumbria
- 2006 Conceive, Beverley Knowles Fine Art, London W10
- 2006 Landmarks 111, Lowood Gallery, Cumbria
- 2005 The British Are Coming, Fibrescene USA web gallery, internet
- 2005 Brewery Open, Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal, Cumbria
- 2004 Of Material Concern, Sheffield Millennium Gallery, Sheffield
- 2004 Pure Rubbish, Northern Quarter Gallery, Manchester
- 2003 Snowcase, Fold Gallery, Kirkby Stephen
- 2003 Trash, Ropewalk Gallery, North Lincolnshire
- 2003 The Seating Plan, Green Gallery, Brighton
- 2003 Essence, Lowood Gallery, Cumbria
- 2003 Material Spaces, Tullie House Art Gallery, Carlisle
- 2003 Personal Baggage - two person exhibition, six venues around West Cumbria
- 2002 Hemmed In, Devon Guild of Craftsmen, Bovey Tracey
- 2002 Ideas, Bury Art Gallery
- 2002 Red, various, Bury St. Edmunds, Beverley, Linen Museum, Ireland, Upfront Gallery, Cumbria, Birmingham
- 2002 In Context, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- 2002 Oxo Peugeot Design Awards
- 2001 In Sheeps Clothing, two man touring Dales and Cumbria
- 2001 Collective Response, Bankfield museum, Halifax
- 2001 Room With a View, Tullie House Museum, Carlisle, Cumbria
- 2001 Recycled, Blackfriars Arts Centre, Boston, Lincoln
- 2001 Textile exhibition, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
- 2001 Extra Ordinary, Cumbria College of Art and Design, Cleveland College, Gateshead College, Bowes Museum, Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College
- 2000 Funky Stuff, Rufford Craft Centre, Newark
- 2000 100% Design, Business Design Centre, Islington, London
- 2000 New Directions, The Art of the Felt Maker, Abbot Hall Gallery, Orleans House Art Gallery, Walsall Museum, Hall Place, Makers Guild, Bankfield Museum, Morley Gallery, Gosport Gallery, Beverley Art Gallery, Kendal, Twickenham, Walsall, Bexley, Cardiff, Halifax, London, Gosport, Beverley
- 2000 Out of the Garden - 62 Group Exhibition, Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead
- 1999 Christmas Mix, Fisherton Mill Design and Craft Emporium, Salisbury
- 1999 Threads, The Platform Gallery, Clitheroe
- 1999 Felt Making, Krygstan to Preston, Cyber Gallery, University of Central Lancashire, Preston
- 1999 Ware, The Crescent Arts Gallery, Scarborough
- 1999 On and off the wall, 62 Group Exhibition, Maidstone Museum and Art Gallery; Edinburgh City Art Gallery
- 1997 Art Rising, The Jelly Leg'd Chicken Arts Gallery, Reading
- 1997 Layers of Meaning, Collins Gallery, Woodhorn Colliery Gallery, Bradford Industrial Museum, Cleveland Crafts Centre, Glasgow, Ashington, Bradford, Cleveland
- 1997 Spin Cycle, The Museum for Textiles, Toronto
- 1996 New Designers, Business Design Centre, London
- 1995 Art of the Stitch, Commonwealth Institute, London; Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester
- 1995 Vanishing Worlds, Redditch Needle Museum (Charles Henry Foyle Trust Award for Stitched Textiles)
Artist talks
- 2013 ? = us + stuff + earth, Art and Science Seminar: Hidden Dangers, Adelphi Theatre, UCLan, Preston
- 2012 ?= people + stuff + planet, University of Central Lancashire - MA Art Students, Preston
- 2012 Beautiful Dystopias, University of Central Lancashire - School of Built and Natural Environment, Preston
- 2010 Listening to Strangers, Royal British Society of Sculptors Gallery, 108 Old Brompton Road, London
- 2009 Talking to Strangers, Collins Gallery, Glasgow
- 2009 So, you don't love me anymore, University of Central lancashire, Preston
- 2007 No Limits, Royal British Society of Sculptors, London
- 2007 No Limits, Customs House, South Shields
- 2007 No Limits, University of Central Lancashire, Preston
- 2006 No Limits, Green Conference, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow
- 2006 Inside Out Project, LEA Arts and Minds conference, Lowood Hotel, Windermere
- 2006 No Limits, University of Central Lancashire, Preston
- 2005 No Limits, University of Wales Cardiff Institute, Cardiff
- 2003 Personal Baggage Project, touring round public venues, Copeland and Allerdale Borough Council (Cumbria)
- 2002 On the Edge, Durham Guild of Spinners and Weavers, Durham
- 2002 "What the hell do we want an artist here for?", The Sponsors Club for Arts and Business Seminar, Central Square, Newcastle
- 2002 Cumbria Chamber of Commerce and Trade Start Right Seminar, Theatre by the Lake, Keswick, Cumbria
- 2002 case study, Northern Cultural Skills Partnership, Rhegd, Cumbria
- 2001 Wasted, Tullie House Art Gallery, Carlisle
Workshops
- 2012 Dolls Houses and Castles, Ulverston Scrap Store, Ulverston
- 2012 Giants Banquet, Ulverston Scrap Store, Ulverston
- 2012 Monsters and Princesses, Ulverston Scrap Store, Ulverston
- 2010 Sculpture Club, Hawkeshead and Esthwaite Primary School, Hawkeshead, Cumbria
- 2010 Art Club, Stroke Association, Grange over Sands, Cumbria
- 2008 Giants Banquet, Forum 28, Barrow
- 2007 Wasted Treasure, Forum 28, Barrow
- 2007 Sheepfest, Forum 28, Barrow
- 2006 Bodymarks for the Big Draw, Dock Museum, Barrow
- 2006 Spirit of place - collograph printing, Dock Museum, Barrow
- 2005 Monsters and dragons - sculpture, Dock Museum, Barrow
- 2003 Material Spaces, Tullie House Museum, Carlisle, Cumbria
- 2002 Plaster sculpture, Bankfield Museum, Halifax
Residencies
- 2012 Beautiful Dystopias, School of Built and Natural Environment, University of Central Lancashire, Preston
- 2011 summer artist-in-residence, Millom School, Millom, Cumbria
- 2005 FEAST at C21 Blackburn, SAMS (scrap store), Blackburn
- 2002 Journeys of Discovery, Hexham Arts Centre, Hexham
- 2002 Personal Baggage, Distington Community, West Cumbria
- 2001 WASTED "Are you sitting comfortably?", WCF Alympas Ltd, Aspatria, Cumbria
Public commissions
- 2013 Periodic Table Commission, Accrington Academy, Accrington
- 2013 Picture this... gold in your hands, University of Central Lancashire, Victoria Building, UCLan campus, Preston
- 2013 Deep Waters, Friends of the Lake District, Lake Windermere, Cumbria
- 2011 Walney Wave sculpture, Walney School, Walney Island, Cumbria
- 2011 Science Transformation, Ulverston Victoria High School, Ulverston, Cumbria
- 2011 The Epicurist, Leicestershire County Council, Lutterworth
- 2011 Wavelength, Walney School, Walney, Cumbria
- 2009 Treasure Hunt Collection, Whitehaven Civic Hall, Whitehaven, Cumbria
- 2009 Treasure Hunt, Whitehaven Civic Hall, Whitehaven, Cumbria
- 2009 Question, Pennington Primary School, Ulverston, Cumbria
- 2008 'Transplant' sculpture for 'Cheshire Year of the Garden 2008', Ness Botanical Gardens, Chester
- 2008 Armistice Memorial Sculpture, Parkview and Thorncliffe Schools, Barrow in Furness, Cumbria
- 2008 new landmark sculpture and meeting area for mulit-million pound redevelopment of Furness College, Furness College, Barrow in Furness
- 2008 landmark sculpture and seating designs, Furness College, Barrow
- 2007 Book Buddy, Paddle Primary School, Eaglesfield, Cockermouth (more info)
- 2003 Designs for facades to mask buildings, Commissions North and Hemingway Design, Newcastle
- 2001 'Barbie keeps her appointment with womanhood' - sculpture, Tullie House Museum, Carlisle, Cumbria
- 2001 'While you were sleeping' - quilt of nightmares, Tullie House Museum, Carlisle, Cumbria
- 2001 Frozen Rhythms - wall panels, Designed for the Dales, Shap Community Library
- 2000 'Bag Lady' - jewellery collection, Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham
- 1997 Books + samples for education use, Kirklees Cultural Services, Lancashire
Corporate commissions
- 2011 Dressing Power, JF Hornby and Co. Chartered Accountants, Ulverston, Cumbria
- 2006 Shoal - suspended sculptures for outside atruim + 13m banner, Feather Brooksbank, Edinburgh
- 1996 Commercial designs for interior furnishing accessories, Artizan Curtain Rails Ltd, London
Projects
- 2011 Richard Long education programme, Abbot Hall Gallery, Kendal, Cumbria
- 2010 Emotionally Charged, Caldew Lea Primary School, Carlisle, Cumbria
- 2010 Scaled, Henshaw Primary School, Hexham, Northumberland
- 2010 Little People Do Big thinking, Whitfield Primary School, Whitfield, Northumberland
- 2010 In the Garden, Caldew Lea Primary School, Carlisle
- 2009 Big World, Caldew Lea Primary School, Carlisle, Cumbria
- 2009 Viewpoint, Pennington Primary School, Ulverston
- 2009 Space for ICT, Dowdales Secondary School, Dalton, Cumbria
- 2009 Magic Garden, Montreal Primary School, Cleator Moor, Cumbria
- 2008 Hydration, Queen Elizabeth School, Kirkby Lonsdale
- 2007 Creative Director, Youth Re:Action Team, Barrow (more info)
- 2007 EAT..., Rockcliffe First School, Tynemouth (more info)
- 2006 Footprint project, National Trust, St. Catherines, Windermere (more info)
- 2005 Lead creative for INSIDE OUT project, Creative Partnerships Cumbria, Parkside School, Barrow in Furness
- 2004 Project 52, Copeland and Allerdale Borough Council, West Cumbria
Competitions, prizes and awards
- 2008 John Lewis Partnership Award, Washington Gallery, Penarth
- 2006 Associate Royal British Society of Sculptors, Royal British Society of Sculptors, 108 Old Brompton Road, London
- 2006 Highly Acclaimed award for sculpture, Landmarks 111 exhibition, Lowood Gallery, Cumbria
- 2002 Oxo Peugeot Design Awards - shortlisted, Oxo Tower, London
- 2000 Solway Greens Award Scheme - Gold Award, Solway Development Agency, Cumbria
Educational experience - secondary
- 2011 Richard Long education programme with 2 secondary schools, Abbot Hall Gallery, Queen Katherine School and Fellside School, kendal, Cumbria
- 2011 Science Equation challenge, Ulverston Victoria High School, Ulverston, Cumbria
Personal website
