My practice has always been playful, experimental, fluid - inspired by the complexity of humans alongside the mundanity of daily life, I aim to represent ordinary experiences and objects as whimsical, interesting concepts that provoke deeper thoughts about the world that we interact with and how we constantly engage and process endless information, however minute. As a person with autism who has struggled with mental health issues, regaining the curious and wondrous view of the world that I held as a child was the most beneficial part of my recovery to me; it allowed me to once again appreciate simplicity and extremes, silliness and nuance, intrigue and discovery, connection and nostalgia.

Exploration of these emotions and periods of my life are important to my work; I try to no longer view it as preventative or feel resentful over the impact it had on my education, but to use it to inform my responses and become something that motivates me to create work that resonates with others in the same position. My advocacy is an integral part of my approach and I strive to represent any forms of authentic self, whether this is childlike or mismatched, messy or difficult.

It is also the recovery period of my illnesses that enabled me to think more critically about people and their experiences, how we interact with one another and our senses of self, how individualistic each view of the world can be, and how we can explore communication and understanding of others in ways that are shaped by our own experience. As a result of being neurodivergent, I communicate differently to most, and translating my differences in understanding to visual and ‘unspoken’ work challenges my own perceptions of ‘otherness’, and I hope to provoke these responses in others too.

Experimentation is a key part of my practice, and I enjoy using unconventional techniques that not only result in inventive visuals, but also conceptually solidify the work at hand when the steps of the method are taken into account. I hold an interest in experimental printmaking, in particular ‘mimeoprinting’ - a method of which I have been developing and facilitating workshops for over the past year. Physicality and kinaesthetic qualities are important parts of my practice; sensory elements and the inclusion of multiple senses elevates the message and the understanding of the work to some is rooted in tactile forms, and through future continued exploration I aim to integrate physicality into my work through immersive environments and concepts that engage viewers in unexpected ways, beyond just visual stimuli.

This sentiment also extends to usage of digital media and exploring our relationships with virtuality in the modern world. How can digital mediums be used to enhance art and shape its meaning? How can virtual processes contribute to accessibility and develop the attributes of a project in synchronicity with human behaviour and experience to present innovative, extraordinary ideas?

I am enthusiastic about community and collaboration; I create to uplift others who may have been in similar situations as I was, who need the same encouragement that I needed. I understand the importance of belief in your practice, whether from yourself or from others, and through advocacy in my art and ethos, I hope to fuel my own creative potential - something that was not accessible to me a few years ago - and continue to create space for and inspire future generations of creative practitioners.