As creators and consumers of art, I feel we are perhaps indoctrinated to accept that only the solemn and serous is impressive and valuable. I describe my work to be playful and unpretentious in its execution. I primarily use text as I consider it to be a confident and no-frills method of communication, as well as perhaps being more accessible to people who feel alienated by contemporary art.
Hello Friend (2011-2012) is an ongoing series and a continuation of my recent projects, which are characterized by the referencing of modern telecommunications, with a strong focus on the concept of Internet Abuse. Each piece has both a physical and virtual execution; utilising email spam as the subject matter and QR codes, predominantly used as a marketing tool, as an optional way for the audience to interact with the prints. The concept plays with trust; for anything could be at the other end of the link – thus mirroring the act of opening unsolicited bulk email.
Previous projects explore the impact of modern technology on our evolving language. T9 is shiv (2010) jovially demonstrates how delivery of lust is distorted by the use of “textonyms”; while Our Father (2011), a modern take on an illuminated manuscript, shows how any text, no matter how sacred, can be translated to a message fit for Internet chat. The nonsensical imperatives playfully refer to the role of detective adopted by the recipient in order to decipher truncated and coded communiqués.
Love Made Me Hairy (2009-10) is a collection of brightly coloured posters attributed to real life story culture, with a focus on magazines such as Chat and Take a Break. Combined markets of over 9 million consume a weekly dose of real life stories, and ghastly revelations are exposed in the sexed-up tales of deformed body parts, murky family secrets, and sick babies.
In Memoriam & In Memoriam: Minted (2012) were produced in response to The Queen's Diamond Jubilee. The pieces feature memorial diamonds produced by incinerated bank notes, and aims to incorporate many themes surrounding the Monarchy, as well as analysing the concept of value in several senses. It may also bring into question the actions of an artist and perhaps throws the validity of the artist's claim into doubt as the seemingly wanton destruction of such a sum of cash seems unlikely, and the final product is so polar to its original form, that it is difficult to conceive of the two objects being interlinked.
