Animals appear to be the main focus of my work, but this is not really the case. My work in earlier years has concerned itself with my political views on animal rights and this continues to resonate through to my work today. However, I now do not see my animals as ‘animals’, they are avatars for other ideas. I use animals, both real and fake, as a medium.

Musings over life and death, and spirituality influence my work. This has stemmed from my experiences dealing with my depression, and the recent loss of people and pets. Everyday, I debate with myself over whether I can and desire to live. I think about my choices, and I spend a lot of time trapped in my own mind pondering about how dominant this aspect of my identity has become. I do wear my heart on my sleeve through choice, and my art is an expression of this.

I have a fascination in finding beauty in the repulsive, and the repulsive in the beautiful. I love combining the serious with the absurd. I have a black sense of humour. In these respects, taxidermy has been an obsession of mine over the past year, as combines these two interests with other concepts that capture my imagination: natural history, collecting, obsessive behaviour, life, death, science and the spectacle / freak show. I love the tactility of animals. Their body parts, or replicas of, are intriguing. This love of the tactile object extends to other things.

As research, I have spent time visiting the Museum Resource Centre in Nitshill and the Zoology Museum at Glasgow University. As I decide upon animals to use as avatars, I devote time to researching these in more detail. Being an utter geek, the internet is my primary research weapon.

I am very intertwined with my art, perhaps too much. My practice is my main method of expressing my inner feelings, as generally I am introverted and anti-social. My art is made for me.