ARTIST STATEMENT
I am a contemporary English/ South African fine artist from London and Cape Town. My works are representations of spaces utilising coded narratives and symbols, some observational whilst others autobiographical. As an innately anxious person, my practice and subject matter mirrors this in it’s representation. From public transport, to clubs, bedrooms and internet sites these are spaces that are interacted with and act as a platforms for topics to be revealed about contemporary life-styles.
As a natural draughtsman my approach to painting consists of a production of sketches and detailed planning for painting support structures. For me, the foundations of the image are its materials, and I draught onto them. This, along with practical reasoning, is why I choose to work on panels rather than on stretcher bars. Every material serves a purpose to suit my practice, whether it is mixing sand with rabbit skin glue to allow for easier sketching, or using water soluble oil paint mixed with Liquin so I can blend paint faster to not break my studio rhythm. Materials are something that enable me rather than having to fighting them.
My current body of work is a curation of passing thoughts, tangible interactions, intrusive thoughts and observations from spaces that I have or do visit regularly. Most of them are grounded in anxiety, since that I primarily what my passing thoughts are. Stylistically my major proponents would be Joan Miro for line, Francis Bacon for space and George Condo for Subject matter, these artists have heavily influenced the way that I approach representing a space, and have been studying them since I was 17.
Saint Andrews College, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape — 2014 - 2017
Bishops Diocesan College, Ronderbosch, Cape Town - National Senior Certificate — 2017 - 2018
City and Guilds of London Art School, Kennington, London - Level 4 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design — 2019 - 2020
Central Saint Martins (University of the Arts London), Kings Cross, London - BA 1st Year Fine Art in 2D — 2020 - 2021
City and Guilds of London Art School, Kennington, London - BA 2nd & 3rd Year Fine Art in 2D — 2021 - 2023
Royal College of Art, Battersea, London - MA Painting — 2023 - 2024