“I returned to visual arts after a break of many years where I worked as a circus performer and in the environmental sector building straw-bale and timber structures. I also worked at the Center for Alternative Technology during this time.
“On my return, I Initially worked as a photographer documenting other people’s installation art and performances, specialising in night-time/low light shows but after a few years I wanted to create my own work again so I enrolled on an MA in photography in Cheltenham to focus (pun intended) on my own practice. During this time I pushed my night-time photography creating large landscape photographs lit by the moon in one project and by the lights of roads, factories and cities in another.
During my MA, the first lockdown happened which stopped the work I had started on – creating video projection installations in mines. Restricted to a garden in west Wales was a challenge as a photographer so a decision to push an experimental process called solargraphy, which uses pinhole cameras to generally create images over weeks and months. I was interested in exposures of 24 hours. I started to wonder about moving the camera. My first experiment using a rotary clothes dryer didn’t give me a great image but definitely proved that the idea had potential. after much experimentation, I developed and built a series of cameras, some solar-powered others moved by clockwork mechanisms.
Since finishing my MA earlier this year (with a distinction) I’ve been able to push the moving-image/installation side of my practice having shows in Newport and Rochefort in France.
I was impressed by the openness of the people and the space, I’m excited to meet more creative people and make new connections. It’s always rewarding to talk to people about creativity and share ideas. I want to use the space to experiment more with cyanotypes and create a new series prints. I will also be exploring new ideas for projections and ways to present moving-image work while I’m here.
I’m enjoying people wandering into the space and the conversations that have come about and I’m enjoying the vibrancy of working here at the Maker Space in Tŷ Pawb.”