My most recent research has been based around the vulnerability and the temporary nature of things. I often use architectural forms in my work as it represents, for me, the most poignant example of transience; man’s attempt to create permanence and legacy through building. I am also interested in the way that architecture can act as a metaphor for our internal selves (the body as a building that houses the mind) and with the enduring sense of memory and/or personal identity that is often embedded into or linked with particular sites.
My work, which comprises installations, drawings, artists’ books and sculptures, often seems to exist in an in-between state where it can be difficult to ascertain whether works are in a half-built or half-derelict state. I often build quite lonely, isolated structures, with a seemingly short life; shelters offering the briefest respite, and storage that can hold only the smallest, lightest items.
The dependency of the work on the environment in which it is built and shown is also something that interests me greatly; my work is often balanced, propped, wedged or held together through tension. Literature is also of great influence, and fiction often features heavily in my work, whether through the creation of fictional places, written text or the imposition of a new history onto a place.
Residencies
| March - May 2010 | A Curriculum at A Foundation, Liverpool |
| July – September 09 | European Capital of Culture exchange residency with Linz Kultur, nominated by Liverpool Biennial, Salzamt Atelierhaus Linz, Austria |
| Nov 07 – April 08 | AA2A Artist in Residence, Liverpool Community College |
| Sep-Oct 2007 | Artist's Book Residency at Women's Studio Workshop, New York State. Funded by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, with additional support from The New York State Council on the Arts. |
| Mar-Aug 2004 | Artist in Residence at Hospitalfield House, Arbroath, Scotland. Funded by the Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh |
Awards
| 2009/2010 | Feiweles Trust Bursary 2009/2010, Yorkshire Sculpture Park |
| May 2007 | Project Funding: Juliet Gomperts Trust. Period of site-specific work at Porth Wen brickworks in Anglesey. |
| June 2005 | Commission to install temporary sculpture in Platt Fields; Manchester International Arts (MIA) |
| April 2005 | Project Funding:Juliet Gomperts Trust |
| April 2004 | Project funding: Scottish Arts Council Lottery Fund |
| May 2002 | Individual Artists Award: North West Arts Board |
| May 2001 | John Kinross travel scholarship awarded by The Royal Scottish Academy to spend four months in Florence, Italy |
| Jan 2001 | Andrew Grant travel award for research in Barcelona |
| Jan 2000 | Erasmus and Andrew Grant bursaries, to support an academic exchange at L’Ecole des Beaux Arts, Strasbourg |
Exhibitions
| July 2011 (dates tbc) | Solo exhibition, Yorkshire Sculpture Park |
| December 2010 - February 2011, and travelling until 2014 | Hand, Voice & Vision: Artists’ Books from Women’s Studio Workshop, Grolier Club, New York |
| September 2010 | Showreel, a series of solo exhibitions by young European artists in Italy, Milan, Italy |
| June - July 2010 | Liverpool Art Prize (shortlist), Metal at Edge Hill, Liverpool |
| April 2010 | Built, Rogue Project Space, Manchester |
| March 2010 | No ISBN, an exhibition of artists' books, Museum of Contemporary Art (Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst), Leipzig and touring throughout 2010 |
| Sep - Oct 2009 | from this filthy sewer pure gold flows, Supercollider, Blackpool |
| May - June 2009 | DRAWN IN, The Lost Soul and Stranger Service Station, Liverpool |
| April 2009 | Art Land, a site-specific art event, Bishop Auckland |
| March - May 2009 | Climate for Change, FACT, Liverpool |
| Feb - April 2009 | Idea Lab, Islip Art Museum, New York State |
| November 2008 | Interchange: Cities on the Edge, Liverpool Biennial |
| November 2008 | There in Time, Bridewell Gallery, Liverpool |
| November 2008 | Signs of Life, Liverpool & London |
| October 2008 | I Dwell in Possibility, Curve Gallery, Liverpool |
| August 2008 | Pontoon, River Thames, Oxford |
| July 2008 | Façade, Gallery 33, Berlin |
| June 2008 | The Liar, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Bridewell Gallery, Liverpool |
| April 2008 | Sixth Sense, Wolstenholme Projects, Liverpool |
| Sep - Oct 2007 | Only One Way Out, Women's Studio Workshop, New York State |
| Nov 2006 - May 2007 | Sitting Room: artists' books, Manchester University Gallery touring to The Permanent Gallery, Brighton, Winchester School of Art Gallery, UWE Gallery and Another Room Book Arts, California |
| July-Aug 2006 | Drawn Out, Centre for Recent Drawing (C4RD), London |
| Nov 2004 | In Residence, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh |
| July 2003 | Yoke and Zoom, exchange between Japanese and UK artists, vending machine project in Tokyo, Japan |
Artist's talks and lectures.
| February 2010 | Artist's talk and practical workshop on artists' books with BA Fine Art & Illustration students, Blackpool and Fylde College. |
| December 2009 | Visiting lecturer with artist's talk, Professional Practice series, Sheffield Hallum University. |
| October 2009 | Artists' Talk, May You Live in Interesting Times (Festival for Alternative Technology), Cardiff. |
| April 2009 | Artists' Talk, a-n AIR Open Dialogue event at Castlefield Gallery, Manchester |
| April 2009 | Panel discussion, IMT Gallery, London |
| March 2009 | Artists' Talk, Duke's Theatre, Lancaster, part of the 'Talks on Art' programme organised by Storey Gallery, Lancaster |
| March 2009 | Visiting Artist, University of Cumbria, Lancaster. |
| Sep 2009 - July 2010 | Art as Environment, Feiweles Trust Bursary holder, working in schools around Wakefield for around 75 days, including primary, secondary and special schools, exporing self-portraiture through architectural models. |
| January 2010 | Make & Collaborate, a one week project with schools creating an installation at the Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool. |
| April - July 2009 | Leading a series of sculpture workshops as part of the Find Your Talent initiative, in youth centres in North Liverpool with a final week at Tate Gallery, Liverpool |
Writing, academic and other projects
| May 2010 | Artists' Livelihoods, a research paper commissioned by a-n magazine. |
| September 2009 onwards | Regular NEWS section contributor for a-n magazine. |
| June 2009 | Co-curated 'Dumb Objects' with Susan Massey, Wolstenholme Projects, Liverpool |
| May 2009 | Presented paper 'Inside, outside and in-between' on architectural and psychological space, art>space>philosophy Conference, Staffordshire University |
| January 2009 | Take the Floor, one day event with Wolstenholme Projects as part of the Fifth Floor exhibition at Tate Liverpool |
| November 2008 | Coordinated Artists' Book Fair Liverpool |
Education
| 2005 - 2006 | MA Fine Art: Drawing, University of the Arts London: Wimbledon College of Art |
| 1997 - 2001 | BA (Hons) Drawing & Painting, Edinburgh College of Art |
Collections
Tate Artists' Book CollectionManchester Metropolitan University Special Collection
University of West England: Centre for Fine Print Research Artists' Books Collection
Yale University
University of Delaware
Indiana University
Women's Studio Workshop, NY State
Rochester Institute of Technology
Vassar College
Virginia Commonwealth University
The University of Utah
Royal Scottish Academy
Hospitalfield Trust
Edinburgh College of Art