Please click on thumbnails to see the full art work.
Statement
My creative practice is centred on class, youth culture, and the condition of being human. To explore this, I create large-scale paintings on canvas, drawing upon my own social and cultural surroundings for inspiration. I grew up in Aldershot, so my lived experiences, thoughts, and imaginations (in which inspire imagery in my artworks) are heavily influenced by my working-class upbringing. I often play upon stereotypes of working-class folk and young people in my work because these are the people, I feel I most identify with in society as a working-class 21-year-old. My work therefore attempts to critique (from a critically engaged standpoint) the issue of stereotyping that often occurs in the representation of working-class people. By amplifying such stereotypes, I also illustrate my dark sense of humour, mocking the idea that every working-class/ young person can be categorized this way (when of course – they cannot). Additionally, my paintings aim to eulogize a modern-day, working-class society (something that I feel is lacking in contemporary art) with purpose of glorifying its citizens yet highlighting their struggles.