About
I am an artist and academic based in North Uist in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides.
Through my work I address human entanglements with nature and dismantle ideas of the human as the central figure within our ecosystem. I aim to challenge the way we view and interact with nature, exploring the boundaries between wildness and control, and the human desire to connect with, but also to dominate, the non-human Other.
Further to my interest in human-made boundaries, my work reflects on oceanic space as a place of boundlessness and fluidity. The island/ocean relationship has deeply informed my practice while living in North Uist and has led me to consider the ocean as both a potent site of mystery and the unknown, as well as a site of deep cultural significance in human history and experience.
I consider the artist as a translator, able to examine, distil and make tangible a movement or a complex collective experience into a piece of film, a performance or an image. The artist has a responsibility to be socially engaged, and to bring an awareness of environmental issues; having a social and cultural awareness, based on a foundation of openness and learning. I believe that ongoing learning is the keystone of a meaningful creative practice. As an artist-educator it has been my primary aim to both empower and learn from my students and my audience as a practitioner. I am committed to the theory of critical pedagogy and I feel this is an important turn within the Arts in general.