ANIMA MUNDI

Acrylic on unstretched canvas. 90cm x 90cm. 2020

Chosen as Painting of the Day by Contemporary British Painting. Selected for Create! curated virtual exhibition.
Selected for ‘Alchemy’ juried exhibition.

The work spotlights the intrinsic connection between all living things on the planet, the six creatures hidden and revealed in this painting represent the sixth mass extinction. The integral self-portrait represents the fact that ‘Everything is Connected’ and our future is inherently attached to that of the natural world. The painting was created in response to the devastating news from the WWF Living Planet Report which demonstrated an average 68% fall in almost 21,000 wildlife populations in just the last 50 years. Painted during the Coronavirus lockdown, this contemplative portrait depicts a life’s work raising awareness about the plight of keystone species, climate change and habitat loss. Realistic and abstract elements coexist alongside carefully selected art historical references, such as the self-portraits of Frida Khalo. Inspired by a love of Africa and recalling time spent living there, the work accentuates the uneasy juxtaposition of abundance and loss. This self-portrait simultaneously offers the ideal of a future where we live in harmony with nature and each other, yet also presents a sense of urgency as the six creatures are fading and some are difficult to identify.

Acrylic on unstretched canvas. 95cm x 95cm 2020

Selected for Create! Magazine’s global virtual exhibition curated by Gita Joshi. Featured in The Flux Review

The value of a statistical life (VSL) is the local trade-off rate between fatality risk and money. When the trade-off values are derived from choices in market contexts the VSL serves as both a measure of the population's willingness to pay for risk reduction and the marginal cost of enhancing safety. During 9/11 the compensation received by families was dependent on the earning potential of the victim, which predictably adversely affected lower income groups. The number also varies from country to country and affects everything from health to climate policy. But who decides the value, and is the calculation morally just? Of course, human life is always the value spoken of in this context, but what of other, non-human lives, whose very existence is threatened by the harms caused by humans.

Painted during the corona virus lockdown, this contemplative portrait depicts a life’s work raising awareness about the plight of keystone species, climate change and habitat loss, issues so integral, that a self-portrait without them just wouldn’t be complete.

Acrylic on unstretched canvas. 95cm x 95cm

Selected for a featured collection on Saatchi Art by chief curator Rebecca Wilson and for a collection marking Earth Day curated by Aurora Garrison. Selected for ArtCan & La Condamine curated virtual exhibition.

The second painting in a series focusing on the Leuser Ecosystem which is one of the most ancient and life-rich ecosystems ever documented by science. It is the last place on Earth where Sumatran orangutans, elephants, tigers, rhinos and sunbears still roam the same habitat, a hotspot of biodiversity and among the most important areas of intact rainforest left in Southeast Asia. Industrial development for palm oil, pulp and paper plantations and mining continues to threaten the entire ecosystem, despite being technically protected under Indonesian national law.

Acrylic on unstretched canvas. 95cm x 95cm. 2020

Chosen as a Friday Feature by David Shepherd Wildlife Art, home of Wildlife Artist of the Year.
Selected for ArtCan & La Condamine curated virtual exhibition. Featured in Create! Magazine, The Flux Review and The Curator’s Salon.

This painting focuses on the Leuser Ecosystem which is one of the most ancient and life-rich ecosystems ever documented by science. It is the last place on Earth where Sumatran orangutans, elephants, tigers, rhinos and sunbears still roam the same habitat, a hotspot of biodiversity and among the most important areas of intact rainforest left in Southeast Asia. Industrial development for palm oil, pulp and paper plantations and mining continues to threaten the entire ecosystem, despite being technically protected under Indonesian national law.

Acrylic on canvas. 150cm x 100cm. 2019

Featured in The Observer, The Flux Review, Musings Create! Magazine and Entity.Selected for a juried exhibition entitled ‘Alchemy’

In the classical tradition, triangular or pyramidal compositions were used because they created a sense of balance and harmony by arranging the figures into a stable overall geometric structure. Making reference to this, a sense of jeopardy is also introduced, by placing many elements on the outside of the structure. The creatures and the forest are semi abstract and disappearing, as is the female figure - a self portrait, referencing a connection between all ecosystems. The Monarch butterflies rising up from the forest fire are an allegory for the migration of the displaced. As with other works in this collection, the camera phone warns of human inflicted damage, this time showing a tiger skeleton as if holding a mirror up to the tiger walking below. A reflection to the sixth mass extinction.

Oil paint, handmade paper and Swarovski crystals on canvas. 85cm x 60cm 2019

Exhibited at COP26, Glasgow with Explorers Against Extinction.
Exhibited at The Oxo Gallery, London with Explorers Against Extinction.
Exhibited at The Crypt Gallery, Norwich for Explorers Against Extinction, Sketch for Survival show.
Exhibited at The Dundas Street Gallery below the Fine Art Society in Edinburgh ‘On The Brink’ is part of a collection created by award-winning and International artists from around the World in aid of global frontline conservation.
Featured in The Flux Review.

Influenced by Paulo Coelho’s fable about fulfilling one’s destiny on the journey of life. This painting is an allegory of the artist’s own journey, involving a lifelong commitment to advocating for the environment and the protection of endangered species.

Acrylic on canvas. 150cm x 100cm 2019

Shortlisted for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2022. Featured in The Curator’s Salon, The Flux Review, Musings and Entity.

An allegory of a lifelong commitment advocating for the environment and protection of endangered species. Influenced by Coelho’s fable about fulfilling one’s destiny on the journey of life, this painting features a self-portrait as ‘protector of the animals.’ The painting is partially influenced by the work of Rousseau and the fact that although he continuously painted jungle scenes, he never saw them in reality. This concept is underscored by the devastation of our natural world and illuminates the idea that we may soon only be able to see these creatures in two dimensional representations.

As with other works from this collection (Anima Mundi) recurring motifs include butterflies representing Chaos Theory specifically in relation to the fact that initial small changes may ultimately have profound effects, such as the extensive impact of climate change. The camera phone panel warns of dystopia, indicating indifference and detachment when viewed through a lens, here depicting devastating forest fires, destined to become more and more prevalent in the future. Other parts of the work show a more optimistic outlook representing a stark choice for the future.

Acrylic on canvas. 150cm x 100cm 2020

Featured in The Flux Review.

Inspired by a love of Africa and recalling time spent living and travelling there ‘Fractured Earth’ relates to nature, our place within it and encroachment upon it. In this cradle of civilization, emphasis is placed on the uneasy juxtaposition of abundance and loss; evaluating the connection and current disconnect between humankind and the natural world. The impact of humanity is implicit, even though the human figure plays a minor role in the composition.

Acrylic on canvas. 90cm x 90cm 2020

Featured in The Flux Review and Create! Magazine.

“The golden birds fall from the morning sun like blowing sparks that drop away and are extinguished in the dark.. And then there was the small matter of the snow leopard, whose terrible beauty is the very stuff of human longing. Its uncompromising yellow eyes, wired into the depths of its unfathomable spirit, gaze out from the cover of innumerable editions. It is, I think, the animal I would most like to be eaten by.“ Peter Matthiessen, The Snow Leopard. Much of “The Snow Leopard” is about the difference between the physical act of seeing something and the more profound, spiritual act of perceiving it, which requires escaping one’s ego-bound point of view in order to appreciate the unity of life. It is also a book about mortality. Matthiessen ruminated on the “great dying” of the Himalayan landscape. Even in the nineteen-seventies, Matthiessen believed that the wilderness he travelled through would probably disappear by the end of the century.

Acrylic on unstretched canvas. 95cm x 95cm 2020

Featured in The Flux Review.

Why are some individuals venerated and others so abused, even within the same species and culture? Think of the panda, a bear which has iconic status in China, represented as the very symbol of the country; yet the cruel and painful extraction of bear bile continues to be taken from other bears barbarically held captive in ‘crush cages’.

Acrylic on unstretched canvas. 95cm x 95cm 2020

Featured in The Flux Review.

Allegorical and literal, the work references Leda and the swan, however, as a topical reference to our current political, environmental and health situation, this depiction is of a black swan; signifying random events underlying our lives. Black Swan events are characterized by their extreme rarity, their impact is huge and they're impossible to predict. They represent the impact of the highly improbable. Prior to this virus, relatively few people had heard of pangolins, shy creatures from the anteater family and their place in the illegal wildlife trade, yet they are one of the most trafficked mammals in Asia. The self portrait appears as protector of the animals, ghostly and semi transparent; a reminder that our future is inherently bound up with our treatment of the earth’s natural resources. The camera phone shows the Coronavirus “The impact of the Highly Improbable” indicating indifference and detachment when viewed through a lens. The Butterfly represents Chaos theory illustrating that initial small causes may have huge impacts.

Acrylic on canvas. 50cm x 50cm 2019

Featured in The Flux Review, The Curator’s Salon, Musings and Entity.

Oceans cover the majority of our planet, but little is known about their depths. The life forms surviving in these hostile environments are thought by some to be the beginnings of life on earth. Some creatures will be extinct before we know they exist. Marine creatures are suffering from pollution and are injured by plastic and other waste. This painting is an allegory of the artist’s lifelong commitment to advocating for the ocean environment.