IDENTITY Exhibition

Where did you study and how did you decide to be an artist / photographer? Tell me about your artistic journey to becoming a creative person.

I studied art during GCSE’s, but it focused on the craft of art. A turning point was when I visited the Saatchi Gallery in London and came across works by young British artists, such as Damien Hirst and Sarah Lucas. Their approach changed my understanding of what art could be and turned me towards modernist work. I did my MA at Goldsmiths College in Photography and Urban Cultures, graduating in 2010.

I believe that creating work, whether visual or literary, sculpture or draw ins is important to understand the world around us. Creative work, simply put is sharing perspective.

What would you say is your signature? How do you build your imagery and make decisions?

I am interested in the ordinary and the mundane. Representing it through repetition and serial work. Recently I have been interested in crowdsourcing and open source work on the internet. The internet is a powerful tool, and has ultimately changed our appreciation of ordinary experiences.

What do you find inspiring? Any particular artists and Why?

I have been looking at the work of Chris Ware in the graphic novel “building stories”. The work consists of 14 printed works which can be read in any number of ways. The illustrations are simple yet the writing is very dense. The illustrator won a literary prize for his work Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid on Earth which illustrates the bridge between the arts. I think this approach is important in the way we should view the arts. Not as a singular thing to be striving towards but anything that is done with thought, meaning and purpose.

What is your art-making process?

I work mostly through trial and error. Whatever ideas are stuck in my head, I usually follow through with it. Although it may not be the most effective way of charting the course of work or showing progress, I think it puts an emphasis on practical work rather than theoretical ideas.

KALEIDOSCOPE