What are your main concerns? 

My work focuses on the remembered and its manifestation into the physical. I use the archival object to explore themes of a forgotten past, through the tactility and materiality of the paper and image.

-Did you make the paper?- 

No, I wish I could, maybe that’s the next step. 

I work with thin, ethereal, ephemeral forms to try and replicate what the ‘remembered is’. At the moment, a lot of the prints are faded and distorted – some of them are just embossed. The more I work with the prints, the less clear they become, and I really like that direction. I want to make it more unclear, and more abstracted. 

I find the images more interesting when you really have to work to look at them. 

 

What are your biggest influences? 

Printmaking has been a big shift in my practice. A lot of my earlier work was in photography. I’ve been looking at artists that make really ephemeral, delicate installations that immerse the viewer. I love to have whole rooms filled, that really create a space – with sounds and visuals. I really enjoy the writing of John Berger on photography; they really influenced the next step in my work by giving me a theoretical background, instead of just being like I make work. 

These are all found photos, from family archives. I know another guy from last year, who did a fairly similar thing. He was a photographer and then started to work with found objects, and I’ve kind of done the same thing. It’s this weird shift people go towards – from being a photographer, to then looking at other peoples’ photos, and what you can do with them. The difference is he used them from eBay, and these are my families. I have a connection with them. 

 

What’s the first thing you do/ what’s your process? 

Cry a little, stare at the ceiling… (Laughing) 

My current work started with the imagery, and also the backing paper. I really wanted to do something with both of them, so I thought why don’t I just combine them. I wish it sounded more clever, but a lot of the time it just comes from the material, and what can I do with this material or this image, and it leads on from there. 

 

What do you like most about the studio? 

The sociability. Sometimes when you’re making art it can be isolating – you’re in solitude a lot of the time, listening to your own thoughts, making your own work. I like how the studios have other people in…stops you getting wrapped up in your own head. 

 

How has your work changed? 

Massively. Until this year my work has been all over the place. I’ve done painting, photography, sculpture – but I think that’s a good thing at this level, to just go all over the place. It’s important to do crazy things, make lots of work a lot of the time. After making all that terrible work, you end up finding something you really like, so I don’t think its such a bad thing, making awful work for the first 2 years. 

 

What are your plans after graduation? 

Well, I’ve been looking at some internships, maybe in book publishing, because at the moment I’ve been making a lot of artists books. Maybe working abroad in short term work, just because after living abroad I think it’s really important to not just slip into a rhythm. It would be so good to travel whilst working and earning money.