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WHERE DO YOU COME FROM?


In my heart I come from Scotland. Even though I spent most of my childhood away in the South of England, and now in adulthood London and Berlin, I still consider myself completely Scottish. I feel far more connected to the Scottish warmth of character and sense of humour, than any other place I’ve lived.

 

WHERE IS HOME NOW? WHERE HAS HOME BEEN?



Home used to be London, it shaped my transition into adulthood and my start as an artist, and in my head it still is home, but complicated life circumstances has made it not so possible to be geographically there right now (UK visa bullshit), so right now home is wherever I am with my husband and our two cats. We live in Berlin, but its not the city I feel at home in rather who I am with in the city.



WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON?


Right now I am collaboratively working on a new project called HERUS. HERUS (which in Latin means Master) was born from the idea of the artist taking control and agency over how they can show, create, and develop their work without the approval, support or discovery from the institution/elite in the art world. Me and my husband and fellow artist Douglas Cantor, are putting our first show under the title of HERUS in Berlin on March 9th, but we envisage for the future that many different creative outcomes can fall under the umbrella of HERUS, not just exhibitions, but many different types of creative collaboration.  Alongside this, I am always producing paintings, this is a given in my life, whatever is happening, good or bad, I will be making paintings too.

 
 


WHAT DOES ART DO FOR YOU?



I find it very difficult to put this into words, because the words can’t do justice to how I feel. I suppose the best way to try and explain would be that art gives me a purpose, allows me to connect with myself, with life itself, and empathise with other people’s ways of being.



WHAT DOES YOUR DAILY ROUTINE LOOK LIKE?  DO YOU HAVE ANY HABITS?



I have to work in a service job to sustain my life and my practice, so home is incredibly important to me, (it is also my studio), so it is essential to maintain a sense of order in this environment. I don’t have a routine per se but I try to make an effort to include self-care into my daily life, I have a home yoga practise, (Yoga with Adriene on YouTube, everyone should try her videos) has helped me very much with my anxiety, I like to wake up relatively early in the mornings, brew nice coffee, make an effort to cook tasty nutritious food during the day and hope to be a little further forward with everything by the end of the day – even if its just a little bit – I truly believe in patience and a drop by drop build up of hard work and effort to reap the rewards.



 

WHAT HAS LOVE MADE YOU CAPABLE OF DOING?



Love has been one of the few things in my life that has enabled me to step out of my limitations to take on and conquer difficult challenges. Being loved and supported has turned me into the artist I am today. Loving someone has given me the bravery to be vulnerable and start again.



CITE THREE  FEMALE  ARTISTS  YOU ADMIRE.


Frida Kahlo
Patti Smith
Rose Wiley

 

A BOOK?


Kids by Patti Smith



CITE SOME SONGS THAT WOULD BE ON YOUR FAVORITE PLAYLIST?

Kendrick - Lamar Money Trees Patti Smith – Because the Night PJ Harvey - Last Living Rose Princess Nokia – Tomboy Stormzy – Shut Up King Krule – Baby Blue Mount Kimbie – Home Recording Bomba Estero – Soy Yo




HOW DO YOU THINK SOCIAL MEDIA IS CHANGING THE ART WORLD? DO YOU THINK ITS BECOME A USEFUL TOOL FOR ARTISTS?



Social media is such an incredible and legitimate tool for artists in the present day. It is powerful enough to shape opinion of the masses, for good or bad. It is powerful enough to expose things, good or bad, to millions of people. It is powerful enough to make or break someone. I think that, for me, trying to use it as honestly as possible means that I can be happy with however I am received by other people on social media, because I am myself, and not defined by the tool, or what other users think of me or my work. 



WHAT KIND OF THINGS WOULD EXIST IN YOUR IDEAL UTOPIA?
Equality of gender, race and age. And lots and lots and lots of cats.


DEFINE WHAT HAPPINESS IS TO YOU.

I always say, happiness and joy come and go, they’re not what I’m searching for. You can be laughing and experiencing joy at some of the most difficult moments of your life. What I’m searching for is peace. Peace within myself. I’m most certainly not there yet, and I have a long way to go, but I hope one day to make it there.