Artist Statement

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My research began as an exploration of light, beauty, and the sublime within the botanical aesthetic, but has since evolved into something more cultural and autobiographical. Flowers and nature have always been artistic themes, but I began exploring flowers as signs of ‘cultivation’—as cultural symbols.

I became interested in the diasporic experience within colonial and post-colonial frameworks, and the tensions that emerge from this. It was what I came to call ‘botanical mapping’—national emblems like the Protea, gardens, seed beads, and floriography. What particularly struck me about flowers and the Victorian plant hunters was the parallel between the cataloguing of botanical specimens and the mapping of geographical territories—both exercises of power and control. As species were collected and classified, lands were being charted and divided for colonial empires. This same period also saw the classification of people through colonial worldviews—racist tracings and the arbitrary drawing of borders that have left legacies of tension and discrimination.

Once bought and sold, flowers become emblems of the global capitalist garden, masking deeper narratives of globalisation and the erasure—or blending—of national identities.

But this is not my only fascination. Flowers are, biologically, the sex organs of plants—sensual, fragrant expressions of creation. They are fragile and organic, standing in opposition to the mechanical and artificial. Flowers signify everything from the Virgin Mary, to femininity, to death. My observation of the flower is, in many respects, a still life. I am not a botanist; I am an observer of form.

I love learning about new cultures and exploring ancient relics and civilisations. My upbringing, layered with diverse visual and cultural influences—from African symbols to English, Scottish, and Dutch—continues to intrigue me, alongside a deep personal interest in icons and early Christianity.

I am often working on more than one project at a time, and although botanicals have taken me on a thematic journey that has produced some important work, I am also experimenting with more autobiographical and symbolic pieces. I enjoy playing and experimenting with materials including plaster, textiles, and beads. My purpose is to make—to reflect creation in colour, beauty, and form.

Today, I am less interested in academic taglines and elite art-world trends. I am interested in beauty, colour, form, life, and truth.

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Education

• BA (Hons) English Literature and Fine Art — University of Natal, South Africa (1997)

• GTP Teacher Qualification & NQT — Chiltern Training Group, UK (2003–2004)

• MA Fine Art (Distinction) — UCA Farnham (2018)

• Non-degree — UNISA

  • Education: ETAHOD – U (Classroom Management & The Education System & School Management), ETBHOD – Y (Learning to know the Adolescent & Learning and Teaching Strategies in Adolescent Years) ETCHOD – 6 (Guidance, Counselling Life Skills & Special Educational Needs) ETDHOD – B (Outcomes-Based Education & Multicultural Education) ETEHOD – F (Religious Education & Environmental Education

  • Law: Roman Law 1 & 2 (LLB Year 1) Family Law (LLB Year 1) Law of Persons (LLB Year 1) Labour & Tax Law (LLB Year 1) Criminal Law 1 (LLB Year 1)

Exhibitions & Features

• Linear Gallery (UCA Farnham), 2017

• Bargehouse, Oxo Tower, 2017

• Linear Gallery (UCA Farnham), 2018

• Lewisham Arthouse, Granular, 2018

• Safehouse Exhibition Space, 2018

• UCA Farnham MA Graduate Show, 2018

• Haus-a-Rest Gallery, 2021 — Zine: The Uncanny

• Artists Responding To Magazine, 2021 — Zine Poetry & Watercolours

• Gallery32, 2021 — Press Feature

• In My Mind’s Eye, West Horsley Place, 2023 to date (annual)

• Farnham Alumni Exhibition – The Pottery Barn Farnham 2025

• Artists Responding To Magazine, 2024 — Article: The Uncanny and AI Art

• Plantae Magazine — Artist Interview & Artwork

Work

• Artist & Poet

• Secondary School Teacher
  (Subjects: English, Literature, Art, History of Art, Media Studies

• Previous jobs: Legal secretary, Assistant Editor, Project Management and copyright/ document design

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