This collection of images represents projects I have devised and executed between 2005 and present. As an artist I am interested in how people connect with their environment and how garden objects influence their responses and behaviour. These project include collaborations with private garden owners, users of public spaces and school groups and create opportunities to engage various in the experience of being in a garden.
My current practise encompasses the development and construction of landscape (garden) design and crafts-making. My work consists of functional outdoor objects, and explores how people use and enjoy outdoor spaces and how the design and provision of, for example, seating affects how they engage with the environment. This has included community projects to create gardens including an 'heir loom' orchard, memorial garden, historical garden reconstruction and educational gardening projects as well as creating an 'open garden' at my home for exhibitions. Commissions undertaken include public seating and private garden/fountain designs. My designs incorporate up-cycled materials, from condemned park oaks to copper immersion tanks, finding new possibilities for discarded objects.
I am interested in the MA Art as Environment programme as it would update my research skills, providing me with the space to explore the boundaries between art and horticulture within a critical academic setting. I intend exploring the role of the artist as environmental commentator promoting awareness and proposing solutions for our environment challenges. I am specifically interested in artists' gardens as metaphors for the environment .
An important goal for me is to develop a coherent practise unifying my interest in landscape design with my work as an artist. Ultimately, I see the programme developing my practise, enabling me to initiate art/eco projects with partners such as botanical gardens, industrial/recycling companies, museums, through a variety of funding schemes for example, ACE funding.
