Statement

My work explores the multitude of detritus we leave behind.  The human animal adorns their home and surroundings with a variety of objects which, at that moment seem useful or aesthetically pleasing.  Objects are useful until they are superseded or broken, and aesthetic until the next style trend dictates that they have lost their appeal.

I explore the mass of the left behind, discarded, or lost objects as being essential ingredients in a new story.  With these materials I create new objects and environments; coloured plastics set in resin, dolls’ house style vignettes, mini installations and curiosity boxes.

Interrogating these leftovers of humanity, I combine them with personal treasures, elevating their status to ‘valuable’ artefacts, appropriating the visual language of archaeological or ethnographic pieces, religious pieces, reliquary or contemporary consumer products.  Elevating the objects explores the relationships between the real and the fake, the valuable and the valueless.

In doing this I investigate aspects of human experience; life, love and death, and the pressure we exert on the environment.  By contemplating what signifies value, I aim to challenge societal notions of monetary worth and discover genuine substance.  This investigation leads me to analyse my relationship with specific objects, on which I have conferred meaning and value, and that of consumer society on possessions.

Biography

Graduating from Fine Art at Nottingham Trent University in 1996 I continued with my practice alongside raising a family.  At that time, I used painting and printmaking to explore and evoke a sense of place.  Remaining in Nottinghamshire I joined Harrington Mill Studios at Long Eaton, in 2007 where I had a space until 2016.

In 2010 I undertook an Arts Council funded Post Graduate Certificate in Art Practice through the University of Derby and worked ‘en plein air’ as resident artist at Thoresby Estate, Nottinghamshire. In 2011, alongside fellow artist Jackie Berridge, I travelled to Chicago to participate in a week-long residency at Art on Armitage, creating an 8 x 15ft drawing in the window gallery there.  I have subsequently exhibited at Platforms Project, Athens for 8 years from 2014 to 2019 inclusive, and post-lockdown with my own platform JAW in 2021 and 2022.

Over the last years I have been experimenting with different media forms, especially found objects and discarded and natural materials.  This work has now become the backbone of my practice, exploring ways three dimensions to engage a dialogue with the environmental issues, such as pressure on resources, climate change and ocean plastic, I work from my garden studio which reduces my carbon footprint somewhat.