As an 'image-maker', I am concerned with the art of storytelling, which is presented through a narrative sequence of still photographic images that sometimes combine image and text.

My work is commonly derived from, or influenced by, different forms of literature and it is the transition from the written word into a visual image through the transformation of the internal world of the text, into the external world of seeing, which determines my method of adaptation.

By working like a cinematographer, I 'direct' my models, who are usually family or friends, to play the part of someone else in a fictional scenario within a staged setting that illustrates an image or scene from a literary text.

'Forest Fears' (2001)

'Forest Fears' comprises of two separate 'volumes', which draw upon the artist's experience of fear, pain and recovery from a kidney operation and aims to capture these emotions through the metaphorical and cultural symbolism of nature and fairy stories.

Volume I, 'Storm Damage' is concerned with the issue of time in terms of growth and ageing; leading us deep into a dark foreboding forest where decay and transformation take place. The pairing of the naked, scarred body against the scarred, knotted 'insides' of the tree suggests that both body and environment are fragile entities, susceptible to pain. However, the work is not without hope, as nothing here is truly dead, the body glowing in the light is very much alive, as are the roots and the bark.

Volume II, 'Babe in the Wood' is suggestive of fairy tales such as 'Little Red Riding Hood' which depict a vulnerable pre-adolescent girl lost in the woods. Whilst provoking memories of our childhood nightmares of threatening places where evil wolves and witches live, this volume also implies a discovery of sexual awakening and self recognition. Based on a dream the artist had whilst in hospital, this volume traces a spiritual journey of being alone and lost in a dark and foreboding forest, eventually finding her way out to rediscover her own life.

The large scale nature of the works, allows immersion, enabling the viewer to feel as though they could step into a brief fragment of this unfolding narrative, intruding upon a scene and observing the actions of a solitary subject who appears unaware and self-absorbed.

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