A DREAM OF HOME
SOLO EXHIBITION
THE ROYAL STANDARD GALLERY
AUGUST 2ND 2024 - AUGUST 9TH 2024
FOR JOAN (2024) clay, acrylic, photographs, gloss, glue These flat pot shaped clay photo displays are little tributes to my nana Joan and the things she loved most; her husband, her children, her grandchildren and her garden. I miss her presence terribly and although it sounds strange while making these I felt often as though she was over my shoulder - forever my guide.
FOR JOAN (2024) clay, acrylic, photographs, gloss, glue 17.5 x 13cm | 1 of 5 This one depicts my nan, grandad, dad and uncle!
FOR JOAN (2024) clay, acrylic, photographs, gloss, glue 18 x 15cm | 2 of 5 This one depicts her in her natural element sorting the garden out!
FOR JOAN (2024) clay, acrylic, photographs, gloss, glue 4 of 5 This one depicts me and her hand and hand on a beach holidaying in france. I was scared of swimming in the sea but I was never scared with her.
FOR JOAN (2024) clay, acrylic, photographs, gloss, glue 17.5 x 22cm | 4 of 5 This one depicts her and my grandad sharing a look of love.
FOR JOAN (2024) clay, acrylic, photographs, gloss, glue 19 x 13cm | 5 of 5 This one depicts her and my Dad while holidaying as a family in a static caravan.
STAR SIBLINGS (2023) nylon enforced clay, images, acrylic, gloss Introducing my tiny charm like sculptures - pictures of me and my siblings warped by glue and gloss, sculpted into clay! Dedicated to Claire, Andrew and Mathew 🤍 During my residency, I got very interested in the practice of merging photography and ceramics, looking at artists like Graciela Olio and Kate Missett. Separately I kept coming across sculptural picture frames, this work is the amalgamated result of those interests. Far beyond the popular biblical story of Cain and Abel and their intense sibling rivalry, alongside the blossoming of modernism at the beginning of the 20th century, the idyllic depiction of siblings has been few and far between. Stepping away from looking at sibling relationships as one of hardship, or to talk about domestic roles or societal evolution, I instead wanted to create something fun and silly. Resembling the lumps and bumps of a poorly put together soldering wired frame, each of these highlight my brothers and sister, particularly my little brother, as we experienced a lot of our childhood life together. Interestingly, although I wanted to highlight our connection, I chose to seperate all of us into individual pieces. Take from that what you will (seperate people, separate lives or separate in location?) Often are the longest relationships in the life of each one of us the ones with our siblings. What we experience in our family, what we share in upbringing, exerts an influence on our whole life. Siblings can be an extension of who you are, a soulmate with which you are lucky enough to be born in the same household as. There is a longing here with these pieces, to go back to those times when me and my siblings were young and connected and all together (basically i miss them very much)
STAR SIBLINGS (2023) nylon enforced clay, images, acrylic, gloss
STAR SIBLINGS (2023) nylon enforced clay, images, acrylic, gloss
THROUGH THE EYES OF THE CHILDHOOD TOY (2024) cardboard, glue, acrylic, watercolour, pencil, paper Those who know me closely know that the bunny depicted in this painting is a bunny that was gifted to me at birth. His name is Mr Boinga Boinga (the sound a rabbit makes when it jumps duh) and he has been everywhere with me. He has travelled great lengths by my side (from Cancun, Mexico to Brisbane, Australia). I still cannot sleep without him. Yes, I am 25 years old. So what? He isn’t the most lavish of toys. He is no longer as soft. He is certainly no longer as clean. He bares a little bald patch from where I once tried to give him a haircut. But as they say in the Margery Williams children’s book, The Velveteen Rabbit, that once you’ve been loved you become real, and you can only be ugly to those who don’t understand. That’s how it is with old toys. I think Mr Boinga Boinga helped me develop my artistic side. I talked to him, played games with him, wrote stories about him and I. He taught me to see the world through the eyes of someone else. And so, this painting encompasses all of that. That love, childlike wonder, sensitivity, familiar comforts. Life may change and things may get difficult, but he won’t - and that’s still a source of comfort 25 years on.
EAT YOUR MEMORIES (2023) nylon enforced clay, images, gloss 17.5cm Handmade clay plates detailed with images through childhood. Food boosts brain power, supporting keeping your memory, concentration and focus sharp. Sitting and eating together is an important part of life for many families - mine included. It the part of the day where you can sit, discuss, reflect, offload, tell stories, laugh, or cry. And you get to do it all together. You get to share a meal and share moment with the people most close to you, whether you like the meal on the plate or not. Food and mealtime play a vital part in many cultures and traditions; beloved recipes from our mothers and grandmothers, are passed down to each generation, filled with precious memories and long-lasting heritage. The need for connection is within us all. when we socialise and celebrate over meals, sitting down together as a family, it opens the opportunity for that connection.
EAT YOUR MEMORIES (2023) nylon enforced clay, images, gloss 17.5cm
UNTITLED (2024) balsa wood, paper, glue, acrylic, watercolour, pencil, filler, terracotta dust, cork Made using materials synonymous with construction of homes such as wood and filler, this piece incorporates sculptural elements to what would otherwise be a flat surface. The shape of the central figure is that of a standard western home. The paper and imagery used suggests links to family, and southern Europe, a purposeful choice to brings through discussions of ancestry.
THROUGH TIME (2023-2024) image transfer on fabric, embroidery, glue 40cm x 15cm Crafted using images depicting my childhood home through different eras of time, this is a piece that showcases the transformation of a working-class council house through different eras of political and social change. The top image is from the 1990’s when my parents first moved in; a time in which the reign of Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative Government was coming to an end. The second, from the 2000’s - 2010’s during the age of Blair and Gordon’s Labour Government and after the extension was built to fit in the extra two kids. The last is the most recent image from 2020, after 10 years of Tory austerity, a divorce, half the kids moving abroad, and the council enforcing everyone on the street to get pebbledash and insulation.
THROUGH TIME (2023-2024) image transfer on fabric, embroidery, glue 40cm x 15cm
THROUGH TIME (2023-2024) image transfer on fabric, embroidery, glue 40cm x 15cm
HOMES ON TILE (2023) Hand-shaped clay tiles with miniature paintings of the buildings I feel most at home: my childhood homes, the homes of my grandparents and best friend, and the building of my first apartment! I used a cobalt blue colouring, a distinctive colour in traditional porcelain significantly the tang dynasty chinese pottery, of which was one of the first bits of ceramic I was ever exposed to as a child! Obviously, this is very untraditional in process and visuality, but I get very giddy at the thought of merging the two.
FOOTPRINTS (2023-) 21 x 15cm mounted | 14.6 x 10cm This set of photographs was directly inspired by Richard Long’s 1967 work, ‘A Line Made By Walking,’ in which Long walked back and forth in a field to create an area of flattened grass. The line acts as a record of a journey and the energy taken to make it. The work speaks of the fragility of human life, the interaction of humans and nature and was not intended to last forever. In almost the opposite of the image Long took, these images showcase the concrete remnants of long forgotten walks in the city, where unsuspecting people and animals became one with unset cement. In the ways Long purposefully created his mark that would eventually disappear, these unnamed people (likely) created theirs accidentally and their footprints will lay in the ground for (likely) years after they’re no longer around. The work creates conversation around the difference of natural environments and those man-made, and around the marks we leave on the planet and its people when we are long forgotten.
FOOTPRINTS (2023-) 21 x 15cm mounted | 14.6 x 10cm
FOOTPRINTS (2023-) 21 x 15cm mounted | 14.6 x 10cm
DON’T TELL THE COUNCIL (1990-2024) street sign 23cm x 106cm In 1990 when my parents moved into the old council house at the end of the street, they hated that the street name was stuck to the outside of their new home. It ruined the vibe. The council told them they could not remove it. Obviously, they did not listen. Bit rude considering it was their house after all. This sign sat in the shed for 34 years until I claimed it. Bewley Drive has been without a sign for 34 years, and if no one snitches, it will continue that way forever. Playing with the Readymade, by taking this ordinary article of life and depleting it of its useful significance and function, 34 years ago, this street sign became art to the credit of both my parents. Installing a rust-encrusted street sign into a white cube exhibition space brings a reminder of the dirt and chaos of the street into pristine and often highly controlled interiors. Once new and pristine and looked upon by passers-by, this gritty object indicates the long years it spent up against the pre-pebble dashed house and later laying amongst the spiders.
MANTEL (2023-2024) wood, varnish, image transfer on ceramic tile, gloss 120 x 134cm The fireplace. A staple for a living space in most suburban western homes. A familiar domestic structure which, other than being a place of practicality where you gather round to warm up on a cold day, is used as a place of display. A place for objects, images and memories to be presented. Mantelpieces can be a talking point for visitors to a home; a show of cards indicating important celebrations, heirlooms, portraits and photographs, vases and flowers, candles, and religious and seasonal markers. In this way, I’ve integrated images of memories throughout my family’s lives into the mantelpiece; rather than being displayed on it, the memories become one with the furniture. The images that each tile displays were chosen purposefully - all of them were taken within the living room space throughout the years. They show elements of how life was lived around the fireplace; doing your elders hair, watching barney the dinosaur, opening Christmas presents and building pillow forts from couch cushions. The mantelpiece creates opportunities for conversation. It creates its own space within the Gallery. Continuing with the exploration of art and functionality by creating using furniture, it reveals that functional objects can hold a place within contemporary gallery spaces.
MANTEL (2023-2024) wood, varnish, image transfer on ceramic tile, gloss 120 x 134cm
34 YEARS (2024) Using building site grade flags sourced from the front pathway of the new home my mother now lives in, each of the 34 bricks denotes a year of life that members of my family spent living in my childhood home. Taking influence from artists like On Kawara and Felix Gonzalez-Torres, I’m using objects to reflect on the passage of time, and transform the significance of object symbolism in art.
FORMASH (2024) ink on paper Looking specifically at the features of buildings in and around my home city, this series of nine prints were created using a process of purposeful selection of shapes, which were then spliced together autonomously. These abstract structural inked forms display brief components of working-class homes and industrial architecture, with a focus on the exterior façade. I am interested in the exploration of buildings becoming more than their designed function. Architecture by nature is practical, a complex blend of art and science, and buildings are created with the purpose of being lived in, worked in etc. Yet the beauty of a building can be seen through its aesthetics; curving walls, the overgrowth of plant life as nature overtakes the manmade through time, and linear compositions in which natural light and shade combine. The exposed brick of an abandoned broken-down building is evidence of labour and draws an observer's eye to the life that once remained inside. Despite this, the behaviour of the geometric shapes chosen for each print highlights the funcionality of each individual structural component. The harsh lines, squares and rectangles portray the strength and stability of bricks, metal poles, and wooden beams, whilst the circles and soft edges imitate the continuous movement of water through pipe, the fragility of glass and the indiscriminate paths of overgrown flora.
LETTERS TO HOME (2024)
LETTERS TO HOME (2024)
MY PEOPLE IN PERTH (2024) clocks: uk time and wa time 35 x 60cm A set of identical clocks. One is set to the time of here in the United Kingdom, the other set for the time in Western Australia. This is a piece for my brothers, my sister, my in-laws, my nephews, and my cousins, so when I look at it, I can imagine what they all may be doing. It is a reminder of how the lives of my family, though far from me, still carry on. I, and those who live separated from those we hold closest, harbour a feeling that can only be described as grief. Though still living, we grieve for the loss of time that could be spent together. The clocks allude to watching the time we all spend apart slip away. This piece is a homage to Felix Gonzalez-Torres’ 1987-1990 piece, ‘Untitled (Perfect Lovers)’
ODE TO MY MOTHER (2024) textiles, image transfer and embroidery on fabric 104 x 58cm The empress tarot at its top, a card that signifies maternal influences and the creation of life, this fabric sculpture depicts imagery relating back to my maternal lineage including family photographs and symbolism relating to our ancestral background. The composition of the sculpture is done with intention; its structure is a throw away reference to the folding shrines and portable altars displayed across religions and cultures worldwide. Usually, these shrines depict religious symbols or iconography, and aid with rituals and worshipping. To use imagery of my mother and family is a subtle nod to my mother’s influence on my life, and how myself, and many others, turn to our mothers for answers when we need them most. Choosing to create this sculpture from fabric, although somewhat a stylistic choice, was done to feel closer to my furthest ancestral link through my maternal ancestry - an exploration of identity. Cyprus is country known for its textile traditions including weaving, embroidery and lace making. The flora imagery depicted are native plant species to the island, the national golden oak tree and Cyclamen cyprium, a woodland flower that grows in the mountains.
ODE TO MY MOTHER (2024) textiles, image transfer and embroidery on fabric 104 x 58cm
ODE TO MY MOTHER (2024) textiles, image transfer and embroidery on fabric 104 x 58cm
ODE TO MY MOTHER (2024) textiles, image transfer and embroidery on fabric 104 x 58cm
ODE TO MY MOTHER (2024) textiles, image transfer and embroidery on fabric 104 x 58cm
‘A Dream of Home,’ was my first solo exhibition, and marked the end of my graduate Residency with The Royal Standard. The exhibition aimed to present a multifaceted multi-disciplinary surrealist outlook on familiar locations and people, and the influences each has on the sense of self identity. By blending imagery with object, childlike drawings with sculpture, and in some incidences using building site grade materials, audiences can peel back the glossy facade of often meticulously constructed works to find a dissection of the memory’s influence on our most intimate spaces and the influence that family, working-class structures, and social norms have on us. Embellishing memories, the work aims to speak to our collective natural tendency to gravitate towards any kind of link to the past, and explore physical anchors that bring forth the melancholy sense of nostalgia.
Above are my hand made leaflets for ‘A DREAM OF HOME.’
Why have boring sheets of paper explain what the show is about when you can have cute little leaflets made specifically with the shows themes in mind! Posters and promotional material are just another opportunity to create a little more art - these babies were designed to mimic the shape of a house, specifically the typical british suburban home.
Opening Night
Photography: Lillie-Mae Moore
Assistants: Ethan Talbot, Jade Miller, Erin Lorimer, Max Lloyd
