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about

Artist’s Statement

I have a background in genetics, and, whilst following a career in this branch of biology I have always had a passion for visual art. My opportunity to take this further arose in 2000 when I returned to university part time to study fine art.

I am fascinated by the contextual and conceptual complexity of fine art and the way it responds to and references art history. This has encouraged me to explore a variety of subject areas and a range of media; I have gradually moved from working with two dimensional materials to a more sculptural approach.

In researching art and artists I am drawn to primitive figurative sculpture (I like poking around in the British Museum), and admire the way twentieth century artists such as Picasso, Miro, Hepworth and Moore referenced this in their work. I like Antony Gormley’s figurative work especially in terms of replication and its human social perspective. Other contemporary artists on my radar are Christine Borland, Helen Chadwick, Ana Mendieta and Susan Aldworth. This is not an exhaustive list.

I tentatively see myself as an art scientist, an ambiguous term which I interpret as an artist whose work responds to science, but not an illustrator of science. Unsurprisingly, the areas of science I draw on are biological, particularly genetics; the body is my main subject matter. The image on my website home page, Emergence, is a metaphorical metamorphosis from a science self to an art self. The art pages of my website have images of my work and a little about the biological topics that they reference.


Education and Employment

Education

BSc Genetics, University of Liverpool,
PhD Medical Genetics, University of Liverpool
BTEC Foundation Studies (Art & Design) Diploma with Merit, 2001, University of Hertfordshire
BA Hons Fine Art 2.1 2006, and University Prize, University of Hertfordshire
MA in Art and Media Practice, Distinction, 2011, University of Westminster

Employment/Residency/Voluntary

University Lecturer in Genetics (teaching and research) in the Universities of Liverpool, Edinburgh and the Royal Veterinary College, London until 1998
Residency at the University of Hertfordshire, 2008 – 2009, under the Artists’ Access to Art Colleges (AA2A) scheme
Long term volunteer at Courtyard Arts, Hertford