I am a Land artist and maker, and I explore the landscape using process and storytelling. I believe that it goes without saying, we should be for the land.
The form of making I have defined for myself is Primitive. The process draws on the unique history and forces of environment and sensitively captures them. Playful in my approach to material narratives, I seek to uncover the identity of unrefined clay. The power of hyper-local materials is their uniqueness to place. Championing this quality, I create access points that question and expose. My investigation has led me to explore a wide diversity of places, from Peaks, riverbeds, coastlines and other geographical features. Each location has a profound effect on the clay body, changing its colour, form and particular facets such as stones and mineral deposits. What is fascinating is that the on-goings of the environment surrounding a clay bed are stored in the material, modulating and defining its character. In preserving the material’s identity and revealing it, the material tells the story of place. Leading to an essence of the immediate living environment.
In unison with making is storytelling. Having lived in the Copper Coast Geopark in Southern Ireland, I share a love and pride in a rich history of Irish storytelling. Through writing, I set my narrative in the places I work, and look to create an alchemic approach to language and landscape. These words I carry through my process, using them to define context and create shareable insights into my own experiences.