I am a figurative painter, at the beginning of my journey with clay. Last year I had DYCP funding to explore my use of ceramics, and I now have an established skill set and the beginning of my own style and artistic imperatives that sit alongside and are complementary to my painting practice. This includes the incorporation of figurative elements and relations across media. In terms of subjects and themes, my work is primarily about the experiences of women. Sometimes evoking feelings of alienation and paranoia, or exploring issues around one’s self-conception or social position. There is a tense feeling to some of my work, but I also look for the quiet beauty in mourning or isolation, so there can be a kind of languorous, contemplative aspect to them as well. In all of this I’m working against traditional depictions of women, especially in relation to the domestic connotations of pots - I hope to load these works with more psychological content, even if that makes them less comfortable than one would expect from a decorated vessel.