I am a disabled artist living and working in Scotland. My life and work has been shaped by my lived experiences of poverty, homelessness, mental health issues and disability, which has often served as a barrier, but sometimes a strength.
Leaving school at 15, and eventually ending up with an art degree, my life has been ever changeable.
It has only been in the past few years I have learned to coalesce my experiences, as opposed to compartmentalise them.
I work in a variety of mediums, as I feel a life as tumultuous as mine cannot be properly expressed through just one. I use my own lived experiences to address wider social issues, which have become increasingly relevant in the current climate. I often address subjects which come with stigma, or are used as political points scoring, such as benefits, the environment and mental health issues.
As my health, mental health, finances and support system is an every changing and evolving situation, I use what I have and create what I can. This differs on different days, and I have learned to move with the ebb and flow, examining how these areas interconnect, and viewing them as a developing ecology. I am interested in how environment and personal relationships influence a persons life. I am researching and developing work based on the discrepancies in access to green space between high and low income areas, the human need to be connected to nature and each other, and the intersections between art, ecology and mental wellbeing.