Artistic statement

My arts practice began with creating constructed textiles from found fibres – mostly ghost fishing gear; an attempt to use and reform discarded synthetic waste washed up on our beaches. More recently, catalysts for my artistic practice are questions which arise from my reaction to things around me. Research follows, which informs the materials I use. This results in a series of pieces that offer a response to a political event, someone’s story or an issue of social justice.

Labyrinths, labyrinthine patterns and fingerprints are visual threads running through my work, alongside the marks, lines and traces we leave behind us. Much of my work is textiles and print based. These processes reflect my fascination with the touch and contact we make on, and have with, people and surfaces, as part of our lives.

Intrinsic to my practice is working with other people and groups. Long term participatory arts projects I have been involved with are: Space2face, Thames Valley Partnership, Oxfordshire Women’s Aid, Longlands Care Home, Fusion Arts, Modern Art Oxford, Oxfordshire County Council, Oxford City Council, Essex County Council, Shetland Islands Council. I have carried out creative residencies with primary and secondary schools in England and Scotland and in HM Prison Bullingdon. I frequently collaborate with other creative practitioners to form and research work.

I have an exhibition, education, performance, curation and commission history as well as arts development and public arts management experience.

Biography

I completed a Masters in contemporary art and music in 2004 at Oxford Brookes University studying under Shelley Sacks, Ray Lee and Paul Whitty. Through this period of study, my practice began to be influenced by my participatory projects, particularly my work with the Oxfordshire Youth Offending Service (YOS) who trained me as a restorative justice practitioner. I was employed by the Oxfordshire YOS for six years (2001-2007), working alongside young people involved in offending and the people they had harmed (victims). From 2006 – 2007, Oxfordshire YOS employed me as a Creative Arts Development Worker in Youth Justice. This was a joint regional project with West Berkshire Youth Offending Service and one of six national pilot projects with Arts Council England and the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales.

Between 2007 and 2015, I served as an Arts Development Officer with Shetland Arts. In 2008, as part of this role, I co-founded the Space2face collaborative restorative justice project alongside Alyson Halcrow. Space2face achieved independent charitable status in September 2016 and is an award winning project. We are proud to have three former clients now serving as trustees. As part of my freelance practice I now serve as the Director-Practitioner with Space2face.

From 2015 – 2016, I worked as a freelance creative adviser with the British Council as part of their ‘Canny Creatives’ project. In 2016 and 2017, I received Visual Art and Craft Awards (Creative Scotland in partnership with Shetland Arts) towards the development of my creative practice. In 2016, this contributed towards an exhibition of work, ‘We think back through our mothers…or do we?’, which was shown in autumn 2016 as part of Luminate, Scotland’s creative ageing festival. The exhibition process, inspired by my mother and grandmother, may be viewed on my website blog.

I have always used design thinking processes as part of my creative practice as well undertaking design commissions.  I have combined these into a design + restorative justice practice and research career and in 2021 I completed a PhD in design + restorative justice. For this aspect of my work, please see my website here.

Funders and Commissioners