My previous work is a mixture of painting (oil on canvas) and screen printing 

Much of my work is inspired by conversations with my father about his time in the Middle East just after WWII. Now 84 years of age his memories are often awoken by television images of the people of Palestine, more lately Syria and the struggle for peace.

The images within my work are from old black and white photographs taken by my father in the 1950’s, more modern photographs taken by myself and images from newspapers and television media. These are reworked with new technology and printed onto gampi tissue before being painted into the canvas. The resulting paintings are an emotional response to the conflict in the Middle East and its lasting legacy in people’s minds.

My research is leading me to study photographic material from people other than my father and I, old photographs given to me by others, collected from charity shops, age concern and specialist shops. Each photograph is now a record of history, an unknown memory of an unknown person or place which no longer exists as it did at the time that the image was made. This material is often disposed of, burnt or thrown away, lost forever. 

I will use the AA2A as a way to further investigate these ideas, both through theoretical research and practise based experimentation, further developing my printmaking skills using those techniques with which I am familiar and those with which I need more experience.

I am currently working from studio space in Ashton in Makerfield, Nr Wigan