ARTIST'S STATEMENT
The coalescence of art and science, interaction and chance, order and chaos underpins my work. With an emphasis on experimentation and process themes of transition, manipulation, ephemerality and 'imperfection' are explored using found objects, waste material and organic matter, fused with precious and semi-precious elements. I have a fascination with texture, degradation and decay and in the traces and residues left behind often using my body as tool and material to explore the transference, intervention and preservation of the self; bodily presence in absence of the body.
British anthropologist Mary Douglas' definition of dirt as 'matter out of place' has led me to engage into the conflict, attitudes and responses between the usual associations of discarded matter and it's re-valued and elevated context. I am interested in The Uncanny, abjection, the paradoxical 'push and pull' reaction, what it is in human nature that draws us in and at the same time repels us and how this response can be manipulated through re-contextualisation.
My work is therefore rooted in what's discarded and in the potential of renewal, physically and conceptually, through a cyclical self-fulfilling process.
I reuse, rework, repurpose and recycle as many materials as possible within and across my art and jewellery practices by incorporating remnants and waste from one piece of work to construct a new one. For example, digital negatives from photographic prints become resists for etching texture into copper and silver for jewellery or printmaking, and may then be turned into stencils or plates for printing and painting. All waste paper is recycled into surfaces for printmaking, drawing, and painting or as elements for creating and packaging my jewellery. Offcuts and filings from all materials I use are carefully collected and reused.
Since early 2020 I have researched and developed systems for reclaiming and reusing waste silver from used photographic fixer to plate and form elements for my jewellery and artworks. I have also initiated several methods of reusing waste non-recyclable resin-coated photographic paper as a new material for creating wearable photographs and jewellery including 'gemstones', sculptural objects and even intaglio prints. Techniques and applications that are unique to my practice.
All waste within my studio is reused, recycled and ultimately reduced.
I am also actively pursuing cross-discipline/industry collaborations in order to recover and share resources, ultimately reducing waste and the environmental impact of what would otherwise be disposed.
My ongoing focus is to detoxify my processes as much as possible, to constantly seek out responsible alternatives to improve sustainability within my practice whilst retaining the quality and integrity of my work.
This multi-level interrogation has culminated in artwork and unique jewellery collections that harness both control and spontaneity in their materials and the process of their making and so have the potential to, or the feeling of being able to, transform and evolve over time.
The coalescence of art and science, interaction and chance, order and chaos underpins my work. With an emphasis on experimentation and process themes of transition, manipulation, ephemerality and 'imperfection' are explored using found objects, waste material and organic matter, fused with precious and semi-precious elements. I have a fascination with texture, degradation and decay and in the traces and residues left behind often using my body as tool and material to explore the transference, intervention and preservation of the self; bodily presence in absence of the body.
British anthropologist Mary Douglas' definition of dirt as 'matter out of place' has led me to engage into the conflict, attitudes and responses between the usual associations of discarded matter and it's re-valued and elevated context. I am interested in The Uncanny, abjection, the paradoxical 'push and pull' reaction, what it is in human nature that draws us in and at the same time repels us and how this response can be manipulated through re-contextualisation.
My work is therefore rooted in what's discarded and in the potential of renewal, physically and conceptually, through a cyclical self-fulfilling process.
I reuse, rework, repurpose and recycle as many materials as possible within and across my art and jewellery practices by incorporating remnants and waste from one piece of work to construct a new one. For example, digital negatives from photographic prints become resists for etching texture into copper and silver for jewellery or printmaking, and may then be turned into stencils or plates for printing and painting. All waste paper is recycled into surfaces for printmaking, drawing, and painting or as elements for creating and packaging my jewellery. Offcuts and filings from all materials I use are carefully collected and reused.
Since early 2020 I have researched and developed systems for reclaiming and reusing waste silver from used photographic fixer to plate and form elements for my jewellery and artworks. I have also initiated several methods of reusing waste non-recyclable resin-coated photographic paper as a new material for creating wearable photographs and jewellery including 'gemstones', sculptural objects and even intaglio prints. Techniques and applications that are unique to my practice.
All waste within my studio is reused, recycled and ultimately reduced.
I am also actively pursuing cross-discipline/industry collaborations in order to recover and share resources, ultimately reducing waste and the environmental impact of what would otherwise be disposed.
My ongoing focus is to detoxify my processes as much as possible, to constantly seek out responsible alternatives to improve sustainability within my practice whilst retaining the quality and integrity of my work.
This multi-level interrogation has culminated in artwork and unique jewellery collections that harness both control and spontaneity in their materials and the process of their making and so have the potential to, or the feeling of being able to, transform and evolve over time.
RESPECT - REDUCE - REUSE - RECYCLE
All of my precious metal jewellery is Hallmarked at the London Assay Office and I am a registered Fairmined brand.
I'm a member of Heritage Crafts, the Association for Contemporary Jewellery, The Guild of Jewellery Designers, and Precious Collective. I am also included in the Crafts Council Directory and was amongst the first 50 jewellers to have taken the Fair Luxury Pledge in 2021
I'm a member of Heritage Crafts, the Association for Contemporary Jewellery, The Guild of Jewellery Designers, and Precious Collective. I am also included in the Crafts Council Directory and was amongst the first 50 jewellers to have taken the Fair Luxury Pledge in 2021