Genetics are brought together, orchestrating a biological chain of events at conception. The double helix forges the theatre, the lit but as yet empty stage. This biology of self, open and exposed to the outside. Forces of religion, morality, convention, society, gender and socio/economic status are marshalled and start their influence.

The subsequent flourishing of youth. the road to extinction and eventual demise. The fitting in or not. The weave, the tattered tapestry are all ideas that excite and influence my work. On ocassion I have incorporated the concept of the repeat pattern. Grids serve as a metaphor for birth, growth and death. The end being the boundary of the image and within the repeat I will break down the separate element with colour, undermiming the regimented sequence. The characters in my work illustrate an archive. They portray a visit from the past, present or future. These characters may be symbolic, abstract or may even manifest themselves as biological organisms or geometric structures.

Outside factors start to manipulate our personality. Our creation of self and our projected image being decided, perhaps, out-with our control. Geometric and sharp shapes, manifested in many of the works, they assemble to change and augment life. The wings of freedom and self-expression are clipped by social convention, rules, bigotry, racism, sexism, homophobia and perhaps violence. My work as an artist is an account, a personal testimony where imposition, doubt and anxiety are chronicled.

Faces look out in various directions at us the viewer with an overhang of sadness and perhaps regret. Fading and at times merging from the background, their stoic quality could be seen as a rebuke to life, history and adversity, or perhaps a message of defiance, a plea not to be battered by external and internal sources that force and undermine our collective and individual happiness. Political events and interpersonal histories, they ebb and flow. The flickering of a digital or analogue screen, the staining of a page in an old dusty book, are all evoked in and on these spectres, these ghosts.

My work illustrates or symbolises structures, physical, personal, societal, emotional or biological. I use abstract or figurative elements to bear testimony to the journey through life. Birth and entry, growth, then the inevitable demise and extinction. Scientific and mathematical shapes and signs appear, alphabetical letters in various evocative fonts, stars or thin threads fall. They are suspended or land and are sprinkled across my images. Points of reference, perhaps on a map or a codex, or cryptic writings, the incessant quality of the curved line and circle are a constant feature in my work.

I am inspired by strongly held views on society, politics and gender, social structures and groups, or tribes as I call them. Patriarchy and the injustices of male power are a particular strong driver for me, the dogma of religion and its often destructive influences on gender and sexuality orchestrated and effectively managed by men. Race adds to this mix and the figurative elements are totems of quiet rebellion. Strong colours, arcadia and the sensual aura of the garden are places that my characters appear and perform, demanding our attention, emotions and thoughts.

I have created various chapters or series over the years. My ‘Bio and Geo Falling’ series was influenced by the constructs of natural and man made worlds, symbolising the battles of conformity and existence.

The ‘Tattoo Lady’ series, celebrates skin art, the often crass exploitative imagery of sexy, cute or languid women, male centred stereotypes and cliche designs. The urge to permanently stain, colour and draw line on skin almost to a point of fetichism fascinates me. Ink on and in skin, the ultimate fingers up to the certainty of death and decay.

The ‘Fragments’ series was realised through a narrative, a film in my head of a spacecraft, an automated vehicle travelling through time and space, many years after life has ceased to exist on earth. An empty vessel that has become the depository of these fragments, a bank of images, totems. These characters are representatives from various epochs in human history; yes, perhaps ghosts. These shadows appear and disappear, blinking into the darkness. Perhaps some calamity on Earth led to human extinction? All that is left of humankind is this sad collection, a failing visual record, cracked glass screens and ever diming lights. These totems of humanity, are now the bare bones left behind after the passing of life.

The ‘Scrap’ series is rather similar to the imagery of the Tattoo series with indulged sentimentality and simplistic gender assignment. I remember as a child the craze to collect and swap from your collection of these paper scraps. I would often see cherubs and angels flower baskets and kittens. Their rich colour and glossy shine all kept safe in the pages of a book to open and negotiate swaps with friends. A ritual that I still find enchanting.

The ‘Afro’ and subsequent ‘Grenade Head’ series were born from my days in East London , steeped in black culture. The circular shaped hairstyle being my calling card for these pieces. A great vehicle to fill with a wide range of symbols, textures and colours culminating in the bitter sweet grenades, a mix metaphor.

The “Star Siren’ series investigated the male stare and the almost religiosity attached to the cult of celebrity. The lust for female youth, beauty and the destructive mania for fame.

The ‘Punch’ series uses illustrations from the Punch Magazine of the 1930’s. These very slick drawings laced with the style and aesthetic of the time have an underlying sinister mood as this era would soon slide into the hell of World War II and Fascism. I manipulted and augmented these illustrations using digital software to create stand alone pieces as prints. The story of Patriarchy is so evident on every page.

The ‘Object, Male Nude’ series is my latest. I have curated a collection of photographs that I have reimagened digitally and gone on to use as compositional ideas to create a series of paintings. These works shine a light, a gaze on the male form. The look of the voyeur,
the focus on the naked, the exposed, the vulnerable. The body, the individual stripped of a head and/or limbs, cropped to turn a human into an object. The idol and the decorative item mixed together. The searing gaze on the female nude reveresed and redirected onto the male.

For many years now I have used my iPhone as a sketch book, taking photographs and then using a software app on it to add colour, shape, line, often mixing several images into translucent layers to create both stand alone works as well as constructs for my paintings and film pieces. I still create and enjoy the act of drawing but I am drawn to the immediacy and sudden change made available by this technology. The intense colour and backlight I find exciting and stimulating. I find this approach suits my practice and my aesthetic.