1. Introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your practice?
I've been a member of Magdalen Road Studios just over three years, joining after I graduated from Leeds College of Art in 2013. My practice primarily focuses on light installation, based on the principle idea that using light is a form of painting. My work takes influence from the evolution of the ideas around colour theory, and I've also started to use other mediums to take my own practice further.
2. What are you currently working on?
Recently I've been looking into more sculptural ways to display the use of light with a focus on scientific and philosophical ideas of colour. The first piece I created with this in mind was a 6 foot pyramid structure exhibited at OVADA. I'm now going to be looking into ways of creating light sculptures that are based on these principles in more depth.
3. How do you spend your time when you are at the studios?
Mostly my time is spent making work from exhibition to exhibition, but now that I've given myself more time between shows I'm going to be spending my time doing a bit more experimentation and research.
4. What are your other (work) commitments if any?
I work 9-5 Monday to Friday in an organisation that delivers education and assessments in the financial sector. It's a bit of a departure from studying and practising as an artist, so it's nice to be able to shut myself away in the studio for a while.
5. How does having a studio at Magdalen road support your work?
Having a studio, and being at Magdalen Road, has been a great support over the years. Firstly, having a studio means I have the space to be able to make new work and try out new ideas. Its also given me the opportunity to document my work in more detail which helps when applying for exhibitions. Being at Magdalen Road helped me to make connections within Oxford. Before I was here I studied in Leeds and had only recently moved to Oxford when I got my studio, so it was useful to make links with people in the city. I've also been able to use Filament 14 for a project where artists were visiting from the Netherlands. This gave us space and time to be able to get together, make work and plan for the future.
6. What are you hoping to achieve over the next year?
Over the next year I'm hoping to diversify my practice more, focusing primarily on sculpture, but also multimedia and painting.