After working for many years as a university lecturer in history and theory of visual culture, I qualified as a fine artist, graduating with an M.A.(distinction) from University of the Arts London in 2013. I also have an M.A. in History of Fine Art and French Language and Literature from Glasgow University, and a Ph.D. in History of Art from the University of Essex.
I have supervised and examined Ph.D. theses in fine art and photography practice, and in art history and visual culture studies.
Public lectures include talks at The National Gallery London, The Hayward Gallery, The Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation Athens, The ICA London, and The Museum of Modern Art Bordeaux.
My published books deal with issues of “race”, gender, sexuality and the politics of representation. (See publications page of this website).
I use various media in my work, particularly sound and live performance. I also work with still and moving images, written and spoken texts, in order to construct narratives that are not linear, but suggestive, evocative and open to creative interpretation by the viewer and listener. I am interested in myth, history and the many ways in which the historical can collide and interact with the contemporary. Giving voice to, and making visible, people and events which have been ignored or marginalised is important to me, as is the creation of a political artistic practice.
My voice is an important medium in my practice, whether speaking or singing, and I feel that the seductive quality of voices is often under-appreciated.
There are a number of writings which have informed my practice which I would like to mention here. Steven Connor’s fascinating book Dumbstruck. A Cultural History of Ventriloquism, 2000, Roland Barthes’ famous essay “The Grain of the voice”, from Image-Music-Text, 1977, and the inspiring book on political dissenters by Peter Linebaugh and Marcus Rediker The Many-Headed Hydra. Sailors, Slaves, Commoners, and the Hidden History of the Revolutionary Atlantic, 2000 all give food for thought and encouragement to create.
Starting from ideas and concepts, questions and politics, I enjoy researching historical and contemporary sources and selecting appropriate media to realise each project.
For short CV see