Collections

The darkly satirical pop-art portraits which make up the Masks of Fear collection explore the new age of world leaders. How have we reached the stage where leaders of the free world are now so disaffected they become biased and blasé. What is it that drives their campaigns of fear? The collection speaks of Trump’s xenophobic traits against Mexicans, Kim Jung-un’s deep resentment for western society, and Putin’s views on the LGBH community and the infamous Pussy Riot movement. With more and more people engaging in the current political climate, Masks of Fear is not just intended as a zeitgeist piece, but is a talking piece that captures a (shit) moment in time.

‘In Brands we Trust’ is designed to look on the surface like a classic piece of pop art – juxtaposing Barbie’s face with an image of the Virgin Mary. But the light facade masks a deeper question about consumerism. Whereas Pop Art fetishised consumerism, ‘In Brands we Trust’ challenges it. In March 2016 two people were shot and seriously injured in America when Nike released a new version of its Air Jordan 2 Retro shoes. ‘In Brands we Trust’ ponders the question ‘have brands become our new religion?’ And if so are they encouraging division and extremism?

Society seems intent on giving the impression that nothing or no one ages. Lips, tits, asses, eyebrows - everything is now bigger and brasher. We no longer accept the inevitability of ageing, especially now you can manipulate your appearance.

POV stems from my fascination with media influence and propaganda. The collection examines our obsession with popularity and fame.

Our opinions of famous individuals are dominated by the media’s influence - it becomes a lens through which we look into other peoples’ lives. The devices we use force us to lean in.

Do we end up creating a false intimacy with images of people we don’t know because of how are forced to focus in?

With the POV collection I’ve created a technique that means the images only make sense when you step back. What’s more it’s a technique that only works in the real world. It doesn’t replicate on a phone. It’s designed to provoke us to re-examine and question how well we know icons we thought we knew really well.