I am what is known in the art world as an 'outside artist'. I think its meant to be a derogatory term for those that never took a formal art education, but I personally love the tag!
Ive always been inspired by finding the hidden life of objects. To look at an everyday object with a total lack of conditioning as to 'what it is supposed to be for' and imagining it as something entirely different is a totally pleasure. Every object has so many existences, so much potential, but yet we limit things to one banal useage.
And so came one tonne, fire breathing mechanical dragons from used car parts and military surplus, floating lotus flowers from old oil drums, a water spraying oak tree from building site junk, a firebreathing 5K sound system and stage and Ganesh sculptures from discarded surfboards past their useful life.
Work took me from Arts Council awards to Glastonbury festival and commissions for the likes of Arcadia Spectacular, through to Atelier 231 the national street arts centre for France.
I got to work and collaborate with some incredible artists and companies along the way from the infamous Paka and Jo Peacock through to legendary Generik Vapeur and the mighty Buffalo Tank leaving a litter of projects on the way both in the UK and across Europe, often discarded or handed on after I had finished.
Having moved away from so much work with metal and flame due to environmental concerns, I have more recently shifted my focus to discarded surfboards. For such a soulful activity it also has a history as a very toxic one.
Although boards can be repaired, they generally reach a stage in their life when it is unfeasible to do so. These are the boards that I look for - delaminated, snapped, eaten by salt water. To take them back to their core and find an entirely new existence inside is an exciting thing. To know that the last hands that touched the foam inside was the shaper that originally gave it its first incarnation and it never expected that it would get a second life many years later...
I hope you enjoy the gallery of creations new and old
Ive always been inspired by finding the hidden life of objects. To look at an everyday object with a total lack of conditioning as to 'what it is supposed to be for' and imagining it as something entirely different is a totally pleasure. Every object has so many existences, so much potential, but yet we limit things to one banal useage.
And so came one tonne, fire breathing mechanical dragons from used car parts and military surplus, floating lotus flowers from old oil drums, a water spraying oak tree from building site junk, a firebreathing 5K sound system and stage and Ganesh sculptures from discarded surfboards past their useful life.
Work took me from Arts Council awards to Glastonbury festival and commissions for the likes of Arcadia Spectacular, through to Atelier 231 the national street arts centre for France.
I got to work and collaborate with some incredible artists and companies along the way from the infamous Paka and Jo Peacock through to legendary Generik Vapeur and the mighty Buffalo Tank leaving a litter of projects on the way both in the UK and across Europe, often discarded or handed on after I had finished.
Having moved away from so much work with metal and flame due to environmental concerns, I have more recently shifted my focus to discarded surfboards. For such a soulful activity it also has a history as a very toxic one.
Although boards can be repaired, they generally reach a stage in their life when it is unfeasible to do so. These are the boards that I look for - delaminated, snapped, eaten by salt water. To take them back to their core and find an entirely new existence inside is an exciting thing. To know that the last hands that touched the foam inside was the shaper that originally gave it its first incarnation and it never expected that it would get a second life many years later...
I hope you enjoy the gallery of creations new and old
Below are a series of past works and projects
