A preoccupation with the tension between safety and danger, security and vulnerability underpins the work. These are nebulous themes – each connected to a different subset of ideas – which co-exist in the studio until they are realised as prints.
After a period of time, drawings and watercolours on scraps of paper left over from printing large work are sifted through and either discarded or reworked, and themes researched more thoroughly. This allows a starting point from which to build an image. These leading ideas are then consolidated into a final print or series of prints, developed by translating drawn tone into texture by scratching, and adding grit to the surface of a plate. The plate is then ‘inked’ and impressed onto damp paper using an etching press.
In recent years I have been invited to undertake residencies at Eton and Winchester colleges and Kloster Bentlage in Reine Germany. I’m currently beginning a new seam of work – begun on a residency at Sevenoaks School, bordering Knole Park in Kent – drawing on the idea of prizes, trophies, and the conflicting motivations and emotions they evoke.
Awards include The RA Summer Exhibition London Original Print Fair Prize, the International Print Biennale Solution Group Prize, The Birgit Skiold Memorial Trust Award for Excellence V&A Purchase Prize. The work is held by the V&A National Art Library UK, House of Lords, Government Art Collection, UK, Yale University Library, USA, Royal West of England Academy, Bristol, UK.