Ideas

My earliest interest as an artist has been poetry and glass.  I am particularly interested in the symbolism of glass and its relationship with architecture: glass as a purveyor and filterer of light; glass as a link/window to the exterior world; glass as a numinous artistic expression.  Whilst I don’t always work with glass in my projects, I often make small light-boxes of etched and engraved glass.  These are intimate, small-scale pieces that offer a more reflective approach than my normal large-scale project environments. 

I frequently use text in my work.  Sometimes the words are incantatory, like music or poetry; sometimes the words are quotes from conversations; or they have been devised in workshops or from collaborating with a writer.  I like to nudge and interrupt the public domain with glimpses of a more personal and poetic landscape, and text is a wonderful medium in which to do this. 

I am interested in:

  • Collaboration, context and dialogue (another way of saying people, places and ideas!)
  • Light and translucency
  • The relationship between ‘private’ and ‘public’ realms
  • Poetry, language and typography
  • Poetic space - moments of intense beauty or resonance imbued in a physical space


Lightbox, result of residency at Thomas Bennett Community College, 2004

“An artist’s intervention within the built environment can examine or illuminate all kinds of notions about community, functionality of art, and the emotional health of our buildings. An artist’s sensitivity, applied to these spaces we inhabit and utilise, can contribute to new ways of thinking and learning about, enjoying and ultimately, transforming our world.” Vanessa Dell