What I do ...

Born into a working class family in Walsall, West Midlands (UK) in 1962, I have been based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire since 1980.

 

Influenced by Sir David Attenborough documentaries and the writing of Gerald Durrell, I became actively interested in the environment and conservation – especially the protection of endangered species – from an early age. While still in Sixth Form, I helped establish a branch of Friends of the Earth in my hometown and was involved in a number of daring Greenpeace direct actions with climber Joe Simpson (Touching the Void) during the early 80s.

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From 1994 until 2005 I was creative director of Vertebrate Graphics, one of the city’s leading graphic design studios. In 2005 I sold my share in the company to focus on contemporary art practice. Since then my personal and collaborative works have been exhibited throughout the UK, in Japan and New York.

 

I would describe myself as a ‘multi-portfolio practitioner’ and my artistic output encompasses a host of creative strategies to explore aspects of our physical and emotional relationship with heritage and nature. The complexity and diversity of this subject matter demands a complex response, so my work ranges from detailed, representational drawings to visceral, ‘animalistic’ abstract paintings, vivid animations, film, and participatory artworks. My work varies dramatically in scale and scope: from intimate water colours to monumental drawings and installations – and the development of highly engaging public engagement projects involving young people and communities in cutting edge research.

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Working in collaboration is an important part of my practice, drawing together diverse skill sets to create new perspectives. I have creatively coproduced projects with notable authors including Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature Helen Mort and Gregory Award winner Chris Jones, with graphic designers including Human Studio, and with leading academics from University of Aberdeen, Cardiff University, University of Lincoln, Manchester University and The University of Sheffield. These collaborations, in addition to addressing the core concern of our troubled relationship with nature, have also sought to test the relationship between ideas of illustration and text, through references to the graphic language of scientific textbooks.

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Outstanding achievements so far include: winner of the Eyestorm Gallery Award for painting (2007), selection for Leverhulme Trust Residency, Cardiff University (2011), winner of the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement ‘Engage’ Prize (2014). My work has also featured in a number of publications including 'Nature Morte: Contemporary Artists Reinvigorate the Still-Life Tradition' by Michael Petry, published by Thames and Hudson 2013.

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In 2021 my commission ‘Harvesting Light’ for The Festival of the Mind - a fantastic voyage of photons from the Sun into a quantum solar cell - was featured in the spring issue of New York City based Sci-Art Initiative magazine - it has since accrued over 100,000 views on YouTube.

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Working with a South Yorkshire based artist collective, and leading scientists and activists from Universities in Cardiff, Manchester, Portsmouth and Sheffield, I am currently developing new creative projects in response to cutting edge research in nature conservation and sustainable technologies.