55 x 75 cm each (acrylics)

‘The Menagerie’ shows five renditions of ancient greek busts I’d seen in the Altes museum. Three of the portraits are expressionless, strangers from the past I’d remade in the present. The two central portraits, Athena and Medusa, have their own story to tell, with expressions of anger and fear complementing their sharp colours. The viewer is meant to uncover the story between the two portraits in the crowd of five, despite the structural similarities between each.

Pride

(digital painting)

You guys know who you are. and even if you don't, if you're seeing this now, know that you have never been alone."

Bury Your Gays

100 x 120 cm (oils)

This piece connects ‘love’ with concepts of time and mortality, while relating our capacity for love to a never-ending ouroboros cycle. The flowers surrounding each figure send messages of sorrow and hope respectively, and lead into the skin of the other. Using skulls to show warmth and love was an homage to Cezanne, whose work was my initial inspiration. The inverted symmetry of the figures in this piece, as well as their lover’s caresses, symbolises the equality of life and death for humanity.

Like hell if you'll try silencing us

30x40cm (oil pastel)

I'll be honest, this was a commission I painted, but it turned out very, very well, so here you go.

Pigeons and Angels

20x30cm (oil pastel)

"...confession cleanses the sinners soul, it does not help the victim. sin is a...a wound, not a stain. it needs to be healed, to be treated, forgiveness is not enough." - The Two Popes, 2019

Familiar

100 x 120 cm, (acrylics)

‘Familiar’ depicts a figure with the biological organs of a human, and the exoskeleton of a beetle. Evolutionarily, humans share lineage with all other species, so what separates us from ‘animals’? In this piece, aspects from two genetically similar species were amalgamated to make the audience question what they find revolting and why. The serene expression of the figure, as well as the placement of her skeletal limbs is meant to create an uncomfortable juxtaposition in the viewer’s mind.

Horatio

80 x 80 cm (ink, mixed media)

‘Horatio,’ with only ink and paper visible on canvas, reveals our species’ dependency on recorded history. The title, from ‘Hamlet,’ contextualises how humanity’s understanding of the world is too great for a single individual, and why we record it to pass onto new generations. Working off ‘Familiar,’ this piece answers the question about humans’ differentiation from animals. The use of pages from the bible’s ‘Leviticus’ around the ink-painted greek statue-like human figure represents this.

The Book of Time is Written in Blood

30x30cm (ink and charcoal)

Imagine yourself without culture, or history, or recorded knowledge. what are you? that's right, a blank-faced statue. an empty canvas.

Sibilance

25x25cm (watercolours)

"...You only have to look at the Medusa straight on to see her. And she's not deadly. She's beautiful and she's laughing." - Helene Cixous

Woman of Culture

35 x 47 cm (digital painting)

This piece depicts an American-Belle style woman, completely in her element except for how she’s devoid of flesh. This juxtaposition of elements signify different things - temporary fashions vs an eternally decaying skeleton, or that people from generations past will eventually decay, given enough years. I’d studied Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun’s hyperrealistic portraits in preparation for this digital piece, and used the oil paint tool to achieve similar results.

Ozymandias

100 x 120 inches (oils, acrylic, ceramic stucco)

Inspired by Percy Shelly’s, ‘Ozymandias,’ this mixed-medium piece shows the inherent skin-deep nature of beauty and life. Almost every component is an homage to the poem - from the acrylic impasto in the background as the ‘Sands of time,’ to the woman’s regal stance and expression. The contrast between dull bone and bright flesh forces the viewer to choose which is more honest - the honeyed view we have of ourselves, or the inevitable destination we reach."

God is Both the Table and the Hunger

25x25cm, (oils)

Do you know Hannibal Lector? What do you think the title means? (No, I have no idea who Mads Mikkelsen is, I refuse to comment further.)

Predation

25x25cm

What the chances are that the death of a person in the company of a serial killer would come about by chance?

Look At Me Now

Draw a monster.

go ahead, do it.

done? alright.

why is it a monster?"

Artemis of Versailles

(digital painting)

That's right, it's titled, 'Artemis,' not 'Diana.' Go ahead, ask Leochares (325BC) to sue me. Oh, wait.