My practice proposes a sensitive, playful, critical reinvention of relational aesthetics as a field of contemporary art which treats aesthetics (here taken as the way our individual tastes and consequent styles, formed through nature and nurture, interact to form our visual world) as a means of portraying the inexplicable aspects/moments of our social realities.
My process is to gather candid, photographic material that captures my imagination, prospecting the effects of chance and appropriation. Then, through redaction/annotation/decoration I develop this imagery into fragmentary artworks. Each piece in my portfolio is my impression of another's expression. This forms a view of a world of countless conflicting aesthetics through the lens of my individual taste. Idiosyncratic signatures such as sharp pencil lines and bleeds contribute to my distinctive style.
I’m inspired by artists Marlene Dumas, Noah Davis and Sophia Al-Maria whose ethereal use of colour, composition, and figuration bears witness to, and tolerates, the complexities of human life. I’m also influenced by socially engaged film and performance; favourite works include From Gulf to Gulf to Gulf (CAMP, 2013) and Sleeping Beauty (Taras Polataiko, 2021). As a result, the theme of collective responsibility is infused in my practice, reflecting my personal values.
By isolating the theoretical and stylistic features of relational aesthetics and displacing them into a 2D practice, I hope to create and encourage the production of similarly touching, sometimes provocative, art.
Education:
Current MRes Art: Theory and Philosophy UAL: Central Saint Martins
2018-21 BA Fine Art UWE, Bristol - Spike Island
Exhibitions:
2022 We Are Sorry to Inform You New Art City, Virtual
2022 PROXY Iklectik, London
2021 Picturing Lockdown Stradling Gallery, Bristol
2021 UWE Fine Art Degree Show Spike Island, Bristol
2021 RBA Rising Stars 2021 ROSL, London
2019 New Series The Vestibules, Bristol
Research and Writing:
2021 Gut Feelings TACO!
2021 Near and Far Camden Art Centre
2020 Undergraduate Symposium Visual Culture Research Group