Following completion of my international BA in Fine Art from Leeds University I went into teaching.
I am now a teacher of Art and Design and Head of PSHEE at Claremont High School Academy.
My degree covered a substantial amount of Art History which has continued to inform my work.
My interests in Aesthetics and Canonical Art have led me to question many of the depictions of female beauty we have become accustomed to seeing. I am constantly questioning the social expectations of female beauty and sexuality against the realities of objectification and abuse. Recently, I have become interested in the sensual intimacy of the female form in juxtaposition to this.
Further, the year I spent studying at Pennsylvania University introduced me to a different quality of light which continues to feed my fascination with crisp lines, and the balance of positive and negative space.
Teaching has reintroduced me to techniques and media that I have used extremely infrequently previously. I am currently working on a screen print which engages with the notions of the female form as a sexual object. The composition is a response to the traditional reclining nude, in particular the iconic images; Velázquez’s Venus at her Mirror and Manet’s Olympia. This work is a comment of the unwanted objectification of a sexual gaze; the face turns away whilst the body remains exposed.
I spent some time trying to get the tone of black correct, in the end mixing a bluish tone of soft black, to create a sense of cold resignation.
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