Artistic statement

My current body of work is set around my experiences and reflections of societal issues exploring themes such as human nature, global conflicts, climate change, gender equality, and the migrant crisis.

Often my work is not a portrait in a traditional sense rather the figure is representative and delivering a message. Although this message may be specific to a subject I’m concerned with, I hope the viewer will have their own interpretation and see their own experiences in my work.

My work is narrative in nature and the subjects I choose are sometimes harrowing and sombre, but through my work I attempt to highlight or protest the issue in question.

My perspective has changed in recent years and my current body of work has been created from the perspective of a child and how they process our world. The subjects in my work are mainly my daughter and son and I paint with their perspective in mind.
This stemmed from my children reaching an age where they started to be very curious about the world around them. This curiosity led to questions about the war in Ukraine and the Middle East. Children are constantly exposed to these conflicts, not just from the news but also everyday life. My children are at the age where they are old enough to question war and violence but not old enough to understand it or be aware of its true horrors. I wonder, through my paintings, how their young minds process this type of information.