I am an artist and arts educator based in the North East of England.

I create artwork using a variety of media ranging from drawing, collage and sculpture - to animation, installation and performance. My work often deals with themes of nostalgia, haunting, temporality, play and regression.

I am interested in exploring ideas around art production in educational environments, especially in the current climate, in which “value” is heavily dependent upon outcome.

My recent practice is inspired by the derogatory term, “The Blob”, popularised in politics by Michael Gove during his role as Education Secretary. Gove used this term (based on the 1958 sci-fi horror film) to deride academics, teachers and teaching unions who stood in the way of his arguably regressive teaching reforms, labelling anyone who opposed him as being part of “The Blob”.

I have recently been creating artwork and facilitating workshops focussing on the importance of making as a cognitive process. Opportunities for students to play and explore properties of materials in a meaningful way are increasingly limited, particularly in the school environment, where creativity appears to have been side-lined in favour of the rigid, rote learning styles championed by Gove and his successors.

My work has become blob-like in its form. I have been experimenting with its transformation and development through a variety of experiments involving media and process.

I would like to use my time on the AA2A scheme to pursue my exploratory investigations into materials and allow these interactions to shape and develop my ideas.

I would like to use the fantastic facilities at Sunderland University to continue to play with the boundaries between real & illusionary, between physical & digital forms. I also hope that my interactions with students will shape and develop my own practice through collaborative ‘making’ sessions and workshops.