Drowning in Oxygen.
Acrylic and oils on board.
Collaborative piece with Jon Faragher
61 x 94 cm
2022
In 1988 St Aidan’s open cast coal mine suffered a breach resulting in a significant flooding of the facility. The
environmental damage was immense with the River Calder flooding in from both ends.
This piece imagines Oddball had not been able to leave the mine fully before the flood, whilst partially
inundated the title contemplates the slow rusting fate of abandoned machinery.
The Window Keeper
Video
Collaborative piece with Charlotte Smith
2020
The Window Keeper is the result of a conversation between two artists in isolation.
During the lockdown, I started to write a journal and take a daily photo of the tree outside my window. The report of the evolution of the tree developed into something very personal, portraying my life, moods and limitation of movement. I was seeing the days passing through the window as I became more conscious of what was happening inside of the walls around me.
I sent the images and some words to Charlotte Smith, who wrote a poem in response. In the video, she recites the poem while I present a video of the images aligning with her words.
The final piece was presented in “Not the Grad Show”, as a video of the projection of the video, which the viewer saw on their screen for the online exhibition. This presentation purposely diminished the quality of the video, emphasising the disconnection between us and the outside and how little we knew about what was happening outside our walls during that time.