Artistic expression has always been my one true freedom—an escape from the world that paradoxically brings me closer to understanding it. I began my first year at university studying Law, driven by a desire to change the world by understanding one of our most fundamental systems. But by the end of that year, I realised that I needed to study art. Only through a degree that almost allows one to step outside the system, would I finally have the space to genuinely study it.
I’m entering my third year of Fine Art, and the experience has far exceeded my expectations. I carry the urgency of social change into each piece, but in the only way that feels authentic: by trying to offer others what art has always offered me. My current body of work relies on communication with others, and reflecting learned wisdom, struggles, or insights to the wider audience through symbolism, colour and style.
One of my greatest inspirations is Frida Kahlo, whose intimate portrayal of suffering, often using herself as the subject, continues to resonate with me. Another strong influence is Elizabeth Neel, whose more abstract approach to reflection and interpretation expands my ideas about form and meaning.
My primary mediums are acrylic and oil paint, and I prefer large-scale canvas surfaces. While digital illustration is a newer and less developed area of my practice, it has challenged me to produce more specific and refined imagery—an important counterbalance to my looser, more expressive painting style. I’m especially drawn to the potential of illustration as a tool for education, particularly in the context of children’s books, where storytelling and visual language can plant powerful seeds of awareness and curiosity from a young age.
Ultimately, my goal is not to sell my work but to use it—to use art as a tool for connection, reflection, and learning. I believe that fostering creativity is more essential than ever. For me, art is and always has been a way of understanding, and teaching the language of life. It is, perhaps, the most powerful tool we have for understanding ourselves and eachother.