Memory itself is the central theme that underpins my practice. Its mercurial nature is investigated through method, materials and presentation. I immerse myself in the sensation of landscapes remembered from my homeland, South Africa, in a metaphorical abstract painterly language which transfers the process of remembering. This process is also a point of inner connection where feelings of loss and longing experienced through displacement are exposed.

The concept that it is impossible to pin memory down is demonstrated in paintings without horizons and which have a restless energy, being in a state of flux. Mixing opposites of oil and water creates surface tension, with compositional movement suggesting that memory is unreliable and constantly changing. I follow an instinctive, subconscious link to places where elemental forces collide, often painting coastlines. My work explores the relationship in us between identity and territory and reveals that they are integral to what we are.

Since qualifying with a 1st class BA (Hons) Fine Art Degree at Wirral Metropolitan College (John Moores University accredited) in 2006, and then completing my Fellowship the following year, I have exhibited widely in the North West of England in commercial and public galleries, The Liverpool Independents Biennial and the Manchester Buy Art Fair. My first solo show, ‘Amalfi to Cape Town’, was hosted by Jigsaw, Liverpool 1, earlier this year. I exhibited in the Florence Biennale 2011 and have recently been appointed to the Liverpool Independents Biennial Board.

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