My work can be impulsive and unrefined

Specialising in figurative collage, I use music memorabilia, images from art history, and cultural ephemera as source material for my art. Each source is chosen to add depth to the stories I tell. And, each artwork is created using free association techniques to access the unconscious parts of my mind. 

Made on computer, but inhabiting the untidy end of the digital world, my work expressively champions the human psyche. Taking great care to avoid interrupting the flow of unconscious thought, my collage pieces are cut impulsively and often left unrefined.

This way of working can be easily appreciated in “Come The Revolution We Will All Be Kings For The Day”. Released in protest at the excessive coronation celebrations of King Charles III, this artwork is made from bits of UK punk memorabilia. The imagery is left in an authentic, loosely cut and assembled state to focus on the visualisation of a memory, teenage punks partying in a toilet.

Talking some inspiration from the figurative collage work of Pop art pioneer Richard Hamilton, in particular ‘Just what is it that makes today’s homes so different, so appealing?’, my work also references punk collage pioneers responsible for creating the myriad of DIY fanzines, as well as the work of Linder Sterling and Gee Vaucher.

In essence, my intention is to create artworks that possess a motif that feels like it has always existed, undiscovered in the source material. And, as a consequence of using music memorabilia, my collages reveal a visual playlist of the music listened to while creating the artwork.

Further evolving my process, I now stretch, fold and crease my collage pieces in three dimensional space, once again bringing untidiness to a precision environment, and allowing a new dimension of unconscious thought to evolve through depth and movement.

By integrating fragments of music memorabilia and cultural ephemera, my art embodies a tapestry of personal and collective histories. The rough, impulsive construction of my work echoes the natural piecemeal recollection of that experience. And, in challenging polished digital aesthetics within a highly curated digital world, my art invites viewers to embrace the untidy beauty of being human.