IDOL: How would you describe your art in 3 words?

Tactile, dark and nostalgic.

IDOL: Your artwork has had a remarkable journey. How do your awards shape your career as an artist?

Being a finalist was fantastic. The attention, sales and commissions that came from my inclusion was simply astounding.  I certainly didn’t expect so much to happen from it and I received such a positive response. Since then I have had further interest in my work and kept busy with commissions. To date I have always had something to do or work towards but no matter how busy I get I’m so happy to be doing what I love.

IDOL: Where do you go when you need inspiration?

If I can I’ll go to some shows and exhibitions, but I usually spend a bit of time alone and put potential ideas in my sketchbook. Sometimes I’ll go and do something different and away from my studio, read a book, watch a movie or listen to some music.  I think, for me, if I’m stuck its best to get away from pushing an idea along and let things happen on their own, a good idea is always close by, you just have let things progress gently sometimes. However one piece always gets me thinking for one reason or another and, if

I have time, I go and see Whistlejacket by Stubbs, I love that piece.

IDOL: Did you always wanted to be an artist? When did you know you wanted to pursue a career in art?

I knew I wanted to do something creative but when I was young I never considered it as a career. My family history mostly involved engineers so it was hard to imagine a life doing something that is so different from a job with set hours and regular tasks. I suppose I only really considered it in the second year of my BA. My lecturers began taking serious interest in my work and guiding me towards an MA. But my final show for my MA, where my work sold before it opened, was when I thought this could actually work.

IDOL: You mix dark elements, such as skulls and bones, with light - what is the message behind it?

I suppose the end of things interests me, especially the elements, such as bone, that the flesh leaves behind. When you get to see the true structure of something, like its skeletons or its teeth, right down to the root, you get a feeling for how it began. But these lingering components of bodies, be they man or animal are amazing.

Light for me adds more to a surface and it is incredibly versatile. I use light as much as a focal point for my works as I do as a way of highlighting areas on a piece. But when you use light you have a lot more to consider, reflections and shadows become more than just finishing attributes, you have to consider them from the start of a piece.  For example the Deer busts are finished with an incredibly reflective gloss finish. When the light is reflected in this surface it adds to the shape of the piece, areas become far more defined, and the piece is somehow animated.

With the Deer busts, the light from their mouths is a language of the dead, quite literally a message from another place. It is something incomprehensible yet alluring, a twist of words that is physical not audible. I use light in this regard to represent a gateway of sorts to a place that is inhabited by creatures that have lost a physical form.

IDOL: When you first started what/who were your main influences. How has this changed over time?

I haven’t had what I would call main influences as such. I always took an interest in Mark Dion and Chloe Brown, and during my MA Berlinde de Bruyckere, but I have always been into the work of Ann Hamilton. I can’t stop looking at 1950’s and 60’s design and pop culture from this period has always, in one way or another influenced me.

IDOL: Your work is very vivid and eye-catching, in terms of texture, color and concept. What made you choose the types of materials you are currently use to display your work?

A lot of my material choices have come down to how I can see the finished piece in my mind. Some ideas are very strong and I can see how I want them to be and I then start considering how I can achieve it. Flocked surfaces give quite a luxurious texture to a surface and people have always commented how much they wish to touch these pieces.  Even if they are quite ominous forms such as the spiny Puffer Fish in Resist or the machete in Together, they still wish to feel the work. Although the pieces that have the high shine, gloss finishes, have a similar allure to them.

IDOL: How would you say the notion of future is depicted in your work?

The future depicted in my work has notions of a future as seen through the eyes of decades past. The designs and visions of some perfect future that existed in the last century post war were so hopeful and filled with technological wonders. I try and tap into this, I know I have a personal interest in the area but I think there was something fearless about the ideas of this time, something that I can’t help but return to.

 IDOL: In your artwork you use very different objects. To what extent do you make or find them?

I would say that it is probably half and half. Although even if I find something that I think could work, chances are I will alter it considerably during the making process. That said I do acquire and discard quite a few items. I use forms that exist in nature a lot and I am drawn to them because organic forms such as bone have always had a draw for me. Other objects such as the Electro-luminescent wire and Neon light are all sought out specifically direct from the suppliers.

IDOL: How long does it take you to create one piece?

Times vary between pieces. It depends on the size of the work and which materials I use. The flocked pieces need a lot of preparation before the flock is added so priming, sanding and a lot of surface finishing occurs beforehand. Likewise with pieces that have a high gloss finish. These pieces can take weeks of solid work to get finalized and I do make my life difficult by wanting to get a finish just right.

IDOL: Your work is strongly influenced by futurism, how do you imagine the future?

I’m not one for looking too far ahead, but I’m always trying to seek out the good in any situation and I think that the future is still quite hopeful. Of course we’re not living in a future as envisioned previous generations, with free electricity and Moon bases but I think we should still be optimistic. I’m hoping for more interest in Space exploration, perhaps even planet colonization. That kind of desire to keep exploring and learning is a future I wish to see.

IDOL: What pieces have caused the most attention and why?

Shuck and Thief have been quite widely covered. Shuck was the skeletal canine piece that was at my MA show and Thief was shown at the Catlin prize last year. Shuck got quite a lot of attention at Chelsea and I was told at the time it was being widely talked about. Thief  garnered a lot of attention too as it was also auctioned at the BFAMI/Christies Charity auction. I was happy with Thief as it used a Neon light which is not that forgiving when you transport it around too much.

Recently the Deer pieces have had a lot of attention particularly Hart I which is currently in The Nature of Change, Hybridity and Mutation. I suppose the pieces that use light are the most visually arresting they seem to draw people in at exhibitions.

IDOL: Where do you see/ would like to see yourself in 10 years?

Of course I would still like to be working in my studio, but I would also like to get into a lecturing/tutor role. I have always had an interest in passing on what I have learned and talking to people about their own ideas and helping to shape them. I guess something university based would be ideal for me, as long as I could keep busy in my studio too.

IDOL: Who are your IDOLs?

That’s tricky, I guess anyone who works hard at what they are passionate about what they do.

Interview by Katre Laan

Words by Eleni Cashell

Special thanks to DEVOUR