I create works using photography, text, film and performance, sometimes under the guise of a persona, The Handbag Projectionist. This work is personally motivated and responds to my life and passions—it is raw and intuitive with the process being as important as the outcome.

These bodies of work often explore identity, gender relations and power dynamics using a variety of approaches that embrace experimentation. Some are situated in domestic contexts in which there is a focus on themes of love, abuse and betrayal. The dissemination of the work, including the spaces in which the work is shown, is as integral to the concept of the work as its subject—context as well as content. Creative personal self-expression knows no boundaries: it is porous, flexible, dynamic and vital.

I am fascinated by life, by philosophy, psychology and the human situation; by flora, fauna, stars and seas. Nature grounds me, inspires me and heals me. I am very curious and like to peek round corners to see what is there. I love narratives but also fragments and find myself drawn to paradoxes.

The title of this personal website is a deliberate play on the term Outsider Art with all it connotations. It is a genre of art that is contested, but it is most often linked to works produced by people who are seen to be outside the mainstream art world; those who have no formal art education, as well as the marginalised, the raw, the crazy, the incarcerated and the psychic. I commissioned three articles on Outsider Art when I was editor of Frame and Reference website, one that is of particular relevance here is Outside In: Pallant House Gallery’s Marc Steene questions the label Outsider Art and its cultural significance.

I have had a varied life and career, most recently as a freelance writer, journalist and editor, specialising in photography. My life and work are difficult to separate and run in tandem, often involving travel including living and working abroad. In 2010, I co-founded Tri-pod, a creative initiative for the development of personal photographic and lens-based project, with photographer Wendy Pye. Casting Off blog post, which was set up by some previous participants of Tri-pod, gives further insights into the ethos behind the work we do and highlights some of the intersections between the various strands of my professional and personal creative life. Enjoy.