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Do you feel that studying photography at school was a good preparation for these next stages?
I often think back to my 2 years of A Level photography when I find myself stuck or if I feel my work hasn’t developed in a while. It taught me how to be more of an independent learner and find new paths of research and motivation for myself rather than from a rigid curriculum or other set expectations. The way we used sketchbooks and created work as a way of generating new ideas for further work was definitely a significant moment in my education and one that still drives my work now.
What key moments - lessons or experiences, within or beyond education - do you consider most significant in your creative development?
Moving from compulsory education to a university environment held a lot of realisations for me that I think were the most significant creative lessons. When you become completely in control of your own learning and you have to start finding your own motivation it can be hard to have faith in your own decisions when it’s solely you making them for the first time. It makes you recognise and value your own creative thinking and processes, because the outcome of whatever it is you may be doing becomes much more engaging and important to you because you were the catalyst and you have engaged with something creatively for yourself.
What was your pathway after school / A level? What is your job/role now? What does this involve?
I graduated last July so I’m only a year into life after university. It took me a couple of years to settle and decide which course was for me. After first doing short courses and some travelling I went Central Saint Martins to study Fine Art. During that time I was also organising arts events and exhibitions across the UK and Germany to show the work of students and local people that I was meeting. I have continued to do this since graduating with plans to expand across other parts of Europe. I also work full time on my own artistic practice and have been lucky enough to have frequent exhibitions and interest in my work.
Could you describe a typical working day?
Each week looks completely different for me. If I’m working towards an exhibition with my own work then my days may be mostly in the studio or darkroom making the work or out taking photographs, researching and planning. If I am working on organising and curating an exhibition then my days could take me to any number of unknown locations; speaking with people about their work, to people who run or own venues, advertisers, photographers etc.
Any further ambitions / hopes / next steps?
I would like to return to university to study for a Masters Degree in the next few years and am looking into either Germany or America for that. I hope to be able to continue making my own work and travel with it for exhibitions and I also want to start experimenting more and making more ambitious pieces and installations. I’ve also just begun working with DIY publication with others from all over the world through a community based online and am looking forward to seeing what comes of that.
Which artists/photographers inspire you most? Why?
Here are five:
Hans Haacke - for playing with the elements.
Christian Marclay - for continuously crossing mediums.
Vivian Maier - for being an amazing woman, adventurous and mysterious.
Fischli & Weiss - for being the first to make me think about art away from a wall.
Roland Penrose - for ‘The Road is Wider Than Long’
I often think back to my 2 years of A Level photography when I find myself stuck or if I feel my work hasn’t developed in a while. It taught me how to be more of an independent learner and find new paths of research and motivation for myself rather than from a rigid curriculum or other set expectations. The way we used sketchbooks and created work as a way of generating new ideas for further work was definitely a significant moment in my education and one that still drives my work now.
What key moments - lessons or experiences, within or beyond education - do you consider most significant in your creative development?
Moving from compulsory education to a university environment held a lot of realisations for me that I think were the most significant creative lessons. When you become completely in control of your own learning and you have to start finding your own motivation it can be hard to have faith in your own decisions when it’s solely you making them for the first time. It makes you recognise and value your own creative thinking and processes, because the outcome of whatever it is you may be doing becomes much more engaging and important to you because you were the catalyst and you have engaged with something creatively for yourself.
What was your pathway after school / A level? What is your job/role now? What does this involve?
I graduated last July so I’m only a year into life after university. It took me a couple of years to settle and decide which course was for me. After first doing short courses and some travelling I went Central Saint Martins to study Fine Art. During that time I was also organising arts events and exhibitions across the UK and Germany to show the work of students and local people that I was meeting. I have continued to do this since graduating with plans to expand across other parts of Europe. I also work full time on my own artistic practice and have been lucky enough to have frequent exhibitions and interest in my work.
Could you describe a typical working day?
Each week looks completely different for me. If I’m working towards an exhibition with my own work then my days may be mostly in the studio or darkroom making the work or out taking photographs, researching and planning. If I am working on organising and curating an exhibition then my days could take me to any number of unknown locations; speaking with people about their work, to people who run or own venues, advertisers, photographers etc.
Any further ambitions / hopes / next steps?
I would like to return to university to study for a Masters Degree in the next few years and am looking into either Germany or America for that. I hope to be able to continue making my own work and travel with it for exhibitions and I also want to start experimenting more and making more ambitious pieces and installations. I’ve also just begun working with DIY publication with others from all over the world through a community based online and am looking forward to seeing what comes of that.
Which artists/photographers inspire you most? Why?
Here are five:
Hans Haacke - for playing with the elements.
Christian Marclay - for continuously crossing mediums.
Vivian Maier - for being an amazing woman, adventurous and mysterious.
Fischli & Weiss - for being the first to make me think about art away from a wall.
Roland Penrose - for ‘The Road is Wider Than Long’