Originally hailing from Redcar, Teesside, my work consistently calls upon early memories of horizons lit by industrial flares, substance abuse, the roaring North Sea and social decline.

Along with my brother we were the first in our family to attend further education. I studied film, moved to the glittering streets of London where I started a band and dabbled in Film Making - but also drawing, painting, sculpture - whilst also holding down multiple dead-end jobs* to support my practice.

For the past 3 years 'dabbling' turned serious, I have been working full time in film and video. Writing, Directing and DoP'ing a varied range of projects: Music Videos (Ghost Car, Gathering Doubt, Pleasure Complex) , Artist film installations (Marcus Coates, Lonnie Hollie, Paul Maheke, Art Angel), Festival Highlights (All Points East, British Summer Time), University Student profiles (UAL, Linkin London), Theatre shows (The Gretchen Question) and many more.

But - without wishing to make this too time-specific - work has flowed, but it has suddenly ebbed. Whilst colleagues talk of relying on savings, taking a break and of imminent inheritance these are not luxuries I can rely upon. We're all a certain number of steps away from losing our home. But the safety net for working class creatives is often immensely limited and as such the risk is much greater. Creative risks therefore are harder to take and so progress, development and networks can be slow to grow. Perpetual imposter syndrome flourishes and confidence takes a battering. As a result I'm terrible at promoting myself.

My clear goal is to direct and/or DoP film. I've made a good start but the precipice looms large.