People

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Artist Statement on new figurative 

People often remember the past through a haze of nostalgia, as though earlier times were somehow simpler or better. But memory is layered, unstable, and selective. Photographs can reinforce these illusions: a smiling family portrait may conceal private grief, hardship, or tension, while another image may

Artist Statement on new figurative 

People often remember the past through a haze of nostalgia, as though earlier times were somehow simpler or better. But memory is layered, unstable, and selective. Photographs can reinforce these illusions: a smiling family portrait may conceal private grief, hardship, or tension, while another image may simply capture an ordinary moment on an ordinary day. I am interested in this ambiguity — the space between documentation, memory, and myth.

My work focuses on the lives of ordinary people and the quiet significance of everyday existence. Throughout history, working people have lived under the influence of political and economic powers beyond their control — wars, trade, wealth, and systems designed to maintain inequality. Yet despite this, people continue to endure, resist, build families, and create meaning within daily life. My paintings aim to celebrate these lives and preserve their presence.

As a starting point, I work from old black-and-white photographs, often choosing images that are damaged, blurred, worn, or faded. I see these photographs as sketches of the past: incomplete fragments carrying traces of lived experience. Through paint, I reconstruct and reimagine the image on canvas, bringing these figures into the present while acknowledging the fragility of memory itself. In doing so, I hope to honour the people portrayed and affirm the value of lives that history often overlooks.