About

Statement

The various stands of my work, whether installation, performance, sculpture or painting, are linked by a fascination with historical styles, and with the act and meaning of looking.

Visiting Munster and Documenta in 1996 I had become intrigued by C19th German Romanticism, leading me circuitously to Freud's office and surgery furnishings in Maresfield Gardens; for my MA exhibition I made wooden sculptures based on Freud's chair and work area and on Victorian-Gothic church furnishings; I made a chair that might be an escape vehicle for an analysand and an ironing board that might also be a cocktail cabinet,

Attraction to strong but mysterious forms led me to gravitate towards museums of WW2 ('British Bulldog', 'Air-Field'). I became intrigued by camouflage and how the eye could be deceived, which led me to explore historical optical instruments ('Real/Non-Real'). Concurrently I had, since 2003, been fascinated by the rise of China, by the East India Companies and the history of European chinoiserie. I began to make sculptures decorated in rococco styles ('Flypitch', 'Sinopticon').

In 2015 I made my first visit to India, and was driven to find out about the British Raj, studio photography and Mughal painting. The small paintings produced at this time quickly mutated into life-size wooden cutouts, expanded paintings which give me great flexibility. I became intrigued by the language of display and of uniforms, the 'feminised' dress of Royal Princes and Viceroys, the politics of posing and the Gaze.

I have always made groups of work, and favour installation and performance. 'British Bulldog' entailed at least a dozen assemblages and live performance, 'Real/Non-Real' was a collection of monochrome instruments', 'Roar Like a Paintbrush' and 'Hobson Jobson' were both 16 paintings hung as a group. Recently, 'Born in a Museum' is an ongoing collection of cutouts drawn on Raj, Mughal miniatures, Pop art and Commedia dell'Arte stage sets.

Currently, my sculpture and installations are life-size painted cutouts that suggest obscure, imagined and surreal histories; strong hybrid forms for real but unknowable uses, objects through which I could place myself within various pasts so as to explore them better. This body of work, 'Mob of Hordes', was the outcome of my Developing Your Creative Practise' funding from Arts Council England, which included mentoring by writers Sacha Craddock and Manick Govinda.
EDUCATION

1975/8
University of East Anglia. Art History BA Hons

1996/7
Norfolk Institute of Art and Design. Fine Art M.A 
    
                                                                      
SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2019
'HOBSON-JOBSON' The Museum of Legacies, Jaipur, India

2016
'EMERALD MUTTON' Nunnn's yard, Norwich

ROAR LIKE A PAINTBRUSH Udaipr City Palace, Rajasthan, India

2015
WHY THE LONG FACE Outpost Studios, Norwich

2013
REAL/NON-REAL Modern Art Oxford Project Space, Oxford

2011
OFFCUTTER The Queen of Hungary Project Space, Norfolk
 
2002
RE-ENACTMENTS The Queen of Hungary, Norwich
       
2000
BRITISH BULLDOG Stuffgallery, London


SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2023 SCULPTURE PARK Tacolneston hall, Norfolk, curated by Katie Utting

2022 UNSTABLE MONUMENTS Old Magistrates Court, Bristol curated by Jesse Leroy Smith

2021

YELLOW ARCHANGEL General Practise, Lincoln, curated by Paul Bramley

PLYMOUTH CONTEMPORARY 2021 KARST Gallery and Levinsky Gallery, selected by Dr Sarah Chapman, Ben Borthwick, Manick Govinda , Heather Phillipson, Dr Tom Baugh and Nicoletta Lambertucci

FANTASY OF HAVING A TRAILER WAGON TO MYSELF Gallery 46, London, curated by Tatiana de Stempel

2019
ARTWORKS OPEN 2019 Barbican Arts Group Trust, selected by Emma Talbot and Alex Schady

CONTEMPORARY BRITISH PAINTERS (shortlisted) Huddersfield Gallery, Yorkshire, selected by Grizelda Pollock, Grant Scanlan and Graham Crowley

CREEKSIDE OPEN, APT Studios, London Selected by Sacha Craddock

'AT THE END OF LINES' Original projects, Great Yarmouth Selected by Kaavous Clayton

2017 HEART BY MISTAKE, the India Club, with Roshan Chhabria

OPEM8 The Collection, Usher Gallery, Lincoln, selected by Brian Griffiths and Eleanor Morgan

WORD PLAY Forest Gate Arts Centre, curated by Sophie Rigg

2013
COURIERS OF TASTE Danson House, Bexleyheath, London. Curated by Day+Gluckman

2012
EMERGENCY Castlefield Gallery, Manchester. Curated by häbarts as part of Word of Warning FestivaL

AISLE AND AIR Cley Church. Curated by Isabel Vasseur

2011 /13
CONTEMPORARY CHINOISERIE Saltram House, Plymouth Museum. Curated by Eliza Gluckman

2011
FRIDAY LIVE Victoria & Albert Museum. Live Art. Curator Eliza Gluckman

MANCHESTER ART CRAWL Kraak Gallery, Manchester

SUMMERSALON Islington Arts Factory, London

2010/11
CARAPACE BURLESQUE De La Warr Pavillion, the Hospital Club London,Tristan Bates Theatre, Seven Dials Festival, the Junction, Cambridge

2009 /11     
PRECIOUS Hove Museum, Sussex, touring to Platform Gallery, Clitheroe, Banbury Museum, Oxon,

Walford Mill Crafts, Dorset, The Gallery, Southampton University, Harley gallery, Notts

2010
LATE & LIVE Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts. Curated by Elizabeth Ballard

2009    
THE GARDEN OF CYRUS Dragon Hall, Norwich. Curated by Dominique Rey

2008
CONTEMPORARY CHINOISERIE Collyer Bristow Gallery, London. Curators Gluckman & Day

2007
FRESH FESTIVAL Southill Parkpark, Bracknell. Curated by Richard Kingdom

2006
COASTAL CURRENTS FRESH Festival, Hastings, Sussex. Curated by Richard Kingdom

SPEND & MAKE Colchester Arts Centre. Curated by Ben and Holly

OFF Outpost Gallery, Norwich

PARADISE Paradise Gallery, Tehran, Iran

CHURCH ALE home SUFFOLK  International Live Art Festival. Curated by Laura Godfrey-Isaacs, with Norfolk Living History Regiment

AIR-FIELD Seething air-field, Suffolk. Curated by Dominique Rey, advised by Eddie Chambers

2004    
ARTLIGHTS Cromer, Norfolk. Curated by Commissionns East
 
GLASSHOUSE Cambourne Business Park, Cambridge. Curated by Beverley Carpenter

THE GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS Brockwell Park, London. Curated by Indra Khanna

2003    
FLYPITCH  Brixton Market, London. Curated by Indra Khanna

SALTHOUSE 03 Salthouse Church, Norfolk. Curated by Manuel Checuti

2002    
CONFIRMATION St Peter Permentergate, Norfolk. Curated by Fiona Roberts

2002/4
ADVENTUROUS WILD FLOWERS Gallery Oldham, touring to 2-1 gallery  Bolton, Dick Institute, Scarborough, Durham Gallery, Durham, Middlesborough Art  Gallery, Middlesborough, Usher Gallery, Lincoln.

2001/2
A WORK OF ART IN ITSELF Bury Museum, Manchester
                     
2001    
EAST END LIVE The Rhythm Factory, London. Curated by Katherinew Packard
 
2001   
EATOMSK Toynbee studios, London
   
2000/2 
MOBILE LIBRARY PROJECT Lambeth libraries, London. Curated by Caroline Jupp

GUEST HOUSE 20 Sites around Sheffield. Curated by Judith Stewart
      
STUFFED Stuffgallery, Bethnal Green,London

1999/2000
SUBVERTED SUBURBIA Touring exhibition from Graceland Art Centre, Dumfries        

LAUGH? I NEARLY Strangers’Hall Museum, Norwich

CHEERS  British Lime House Gallery, USA

KETTLE’S YARD OPEN Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge. Selected by Phyllida Barlowe

1997    
PAYROLL Elephant and Castle, London

FRESH Gallery Fresh, Greenwich, London

XEROX Norwich Gallery, Norwich. Curated by Kirsty Ogg

1995    
ORIEL MOSTYN OPEN Oriel Mostyn Gallery, Llandudno

CLEVELAND DRAWING OPEN  Cleveland  
     



COLLECTIONS

Museum of Edinburgh; Bury Museum, Manchester; Gracelands Art Centre, Scarborough

Mrs Wendy Stamp, Mr Paul Booth, Mrs Penny Blake, Mrs Anthony Hudson , Mr John Woodhead, Mr and Mrs Greg Fisher, Ms Isabel Vasseur
             


SELECTED AWARDS & COMMISSIONS

2019 Arts Council England grant 'Develop Your Creative Practise'

2013 Real/Non-Real, Arts Council funded

2010 Sinopticon, Arts Council funded

Carapace Burlesque, Arts Council funded

2009     Precious,  sculpture commission from Hove Museum

2007     Fresh Festival, commission for new work Arts Council funded

2005     British Bulldog, ACE award for performance at Church Ale Festival

            Airfield,    Arts Council funded ‘Radar’sculpture

2004     Artlights, commission from Commissions East

2002     Adventurous Wild Flowers, commission from Oldham Gallery




CURATING & PROGRAMMING

2019 The Art Practitioner, St. Mary's Works, Norwich, with Jacques Nimki. 23 national artists

2011 - 13. The Queen of Hungary Project Space, Norfolk, with Dominique Rey. Proigramme of self-funded exhibitions and talks

2009 Curator, Gathering Storm, Bayfield Hall, Norfolk. Paintings by 7 landscape painters

2007     Curator, Hearts of Oak, Taverham Hall School, Norfolk. Sculpture park with 12 artists, self-funded

2001/4 Curator of the Queen of Hungary gallery, Norwich. Self-funded artiast-le space in medieval building, showing work by 75 + artists     
                                                  
2003/4  Exhibition organizer ‘Field Day’, Waxham Great Barn, Norfolk. 16 artists and 16 scientists on self-funded expedtiion around the Broads

2004     Steering committee member of Outpost gallery, Norwich 

2001/2  Steering committee member of Norwich Fringe Festival. 25 venues and 75 artists

1998/2000 Programming committee chair and exhibition organizer, Warehouse Artists’ Studios, Norwich

1998/9  Joint organizer of exhibitions with Emma Hathaway as Bad Mother, Strangers’ Hall Museum, Norwich


RESIDENCIES

2023 CULTURE HUB CROATIA, Split, Croatia

2015 OUTPOST STUDIOS, Norwich

2013 b]MUSEUM OF THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE, MEDICINE AND TECHNOLOGY Oxford

MODERN ART OXFORD PROJECT SPACE

2011 CHINESE ART CENTRE, Manchester. With Gayle Chong Kwan

2008 EUROPA STUDIOS, Tallinn, Estonia