'Little Sheela #1' 2020 Air dried clay, acrylic paint and gold metallic paste, approx 6cm in diameter/length (private collection)
The Sheela-na-gig motif is a bold celebration of female sexuality that somehow found her way onto early Christian churches. Nobody really knows what she is doing there - is she an awful warning about lust? Or is she a good luck charm for midwives and birthing? She's very cheerful, whatever she is supposed to represent, and that's the main attraction for me.
The Sheela-na-gig motif is a bold celebration of female sexuality that somehow found her way onto early Christian churches. Nobody really knows what she is doing there - is she an awful warning about lust? Or is she a good luck charm for midwives and birthing? She's very cheerful, whatever she is supposed to represent, and that's the main attraction for me.
'Little Sheelas #2 to #12' 2020-22 Air dried clay, acrylic paint and gold metallic paste, approx 6cm in diameter/length
Exhibited Stryx Studio Holders show, Birmingham, February 2023
These cheery little ladies found their way into some interesting places at Stryx, thanks to imaginative curator Magdalena Jasiak. If you've got a place for one of them, email me, they're looking for homes.
Exhibited Stryx Studio Holders show, Birmingham, February 2023
These cheery little ladies found their way into some interesting places at Stryx, thanks to imaginative curator Magdalena Jasiak. If you've got a place for one of them, email me, they're looking for homes.
'Treasure Box' 2019 Plaster, gold metallic paste, collage, tissue paper, gold ink, found wooden case 32 x 25 x 25 cm
Exhibited at Camden Image Gallery, London 2019
My daughter made the plaster casts in 2012 from a 3D educational anatomy poster we found in a charity shop, and we worked on assembling this piece together. We both used it in our application portfolios for UAL (we both got accepted, her for BA in 2012 and me for MA in 2013). I updated the lining of the case and re-gilded the casts for exhibition in 2019.
Exhibited at Camden Image Gallery, London 2019
My daughter made the plaster casts in 2012 from a 3D educational anatomy poster we found in a charity shop, and we worked on assembling this piece together. We both used it in our application portfolios for UAL (we both got accepted, her for BA in 2012 and me for MA in 2013). I updated the lining of the case and re-gilded the casts for exhibition in 2019.
'Holy Trinity: Gestation, Parturition, Lactation II' 2017 (triptych) Collage, tissue, satin varnish and gold ink on canvas,183 x 280cm (each panel 183 x 91cm)
Exhibited at Euroart Studio, London 2019, added to the ProCreate Project (PCP) Archive January 2023
I moved into a large studio at Euroart in 2017, and I had room to work on several large pieces at once. This is the second incarnation of the major piece created for my BA Art and Design degree show in 1990. (The original ended up in a skip during one of our many house moves, and I came to regret that.)
I cannot thank the staff at Bradford and Ilkley College enough for their support for my crazy decision to have a baby in between years 2 and 3, I don't think it would have been possible to combine a degree and early motherhood anywhere else. This work was mostly made at home between the baby's first and second morning feeds, and then we went into college to do printmaking and photography. The collage layers incorporate photographs from performances I did during and after pregnancy, as well as medical and religious imagery about birth and motherhood. This was the first work that I made in this style, and it is what I return to when I want to process an experience for wider consumption, or to feel my way into talking about something. It started out as a stained glass analogue, I don't think I was consciously aware of kintsugi at the time, but it has that feel too.
Fun fact: The 1990 version of the triptych was selected for the 6th Yorkshire Artists Biennale, at the Crescent Gallery Scarborough, in 1991. It was originally to have been shown on the large wall at the top of the staircase, but at the last minute there were concerns from the council about the 'graphic nature' of some of the content. Instead it was bizarrely positioned as a free-standing triangular column, held together by its mirror plates, with the 'worst' side nearest a wall. One of the gallery staff had the grace to apologise, but I think the change in presentation actually made it worse, because you couldn't then read the piece as a whole. I was far too upset to take photos. It was a long time ago and I guess might be over it now.
Exhibited at Euroart Studio, London 2019, added to the ProCreate Project (PCP) Archive January 2023
I moved into a large studio at Euroart in 2017, and I had room to work on several large pieces at once. This is the second incarnation of the major piece created for my BA Art and Design degree show in 1990. (The original ended up in a skip during one of our many house moves, and I came to regret that.)
I cannot thank the staff at Bradford and Ilkley College enough for their support for my crazy decision to have a baby in between years 2 and 3, I don't think it would have been possible to combine a degree and early motherhood anywhere else. This work was mostly made at home between the baby's first and second morning feeds, and then we went into college to do printmaking and photography. The collage layers incorporate photographs from performances I did during and after pregnancy, as well as medical and religious imagery about birth and motherhood. This was the first work that I made in this style, and it is what I return to when I want to process an experience for wider consumption, or to feel my way into talking about something. It started out as a stained glass analogue, I don't think I was consciously aware of kintsugi at the time, but it has that feel too.
Fun fact: The 1990 version of the triptych was selected for the 6th Yorkshire Artists Biennale, at the Crescent Gallery Scarborough, in 1991. It was originally to have been shown on the large wall at the top of the staircase, but at the last minute there were concerns from the council about the 'graphic nature' of some of the content. Instead it was bizarrely positioned as a free-standing triangular column, held together by its mirror plates, with the 'worst' side nearest a wall. One of the gallery staff had the grace to apologise, but I think the change in presentation actually made it worse, because you couldn't then read the piece as a whole. I was far too upset to take photos. It was a long time ago and I guess might be over it now.
'Little Orange' 2018 Tissue paper and gold ink on canvas, 30 x 25 cm
Exhibited at Platform 1 Gallery, London 2018 and Camden Image Gallery, London 2019
One of the 'Little Treasures' series, which had a more Anglo-Saxon name originally, but I don't want my choice of words to distract from the beauty of the work. Based on the image I made for my BA degree show postcards in 1990.
Exhibited at Platform 1 Gallery, London 2018 and Camden Image Gallery, London 2019
One of the 'Little Treasures' series, which had a more Anglo-Saxon name originally, but I don't want my choice of words to distract from the beauty of the work. Based on the image I made for my BA degree show postcards in 1990.
'Little Pink' 2018 Tissue paper and gold ink on canvas, 30 x 25 cm
Exhibited at Platform 1 Gallery, London 2018 and Camden Image Gallery, London 2019
One of the 'Little Treasures' series.
Exhibited at Platform 1 Gallery, London 2018 and Camden Image Gallery, London 2019
One of the 'Little Treasures' series.
'Little Red' 2018 Tissue paper and gold ink on canvas, 30 x 25 cm
Exhibited at Platform 1 Gallery, London 2018 and Camden Image Gallery, London 2019
One of the 'Little Treasures' series.
Exhibited at Platform 1 Gallery, London 2018 and Camden Image Gallery, London 2019
One of the 'Little Treasures' series.