Visual art has always been my language. As a child my father drew objects from obscure angles and I had to guess what they were. I see lines, shapes and patterns everywhere. I lose hours staring at images found in clouds, shadows and images hung on gallery walls.
When drawing was no longer satisfied with daily lunch break escapes I took a sabbatical and ran off to art school. With fresh paper, sharpened pencils and a brand new pencil case with my initial ‘Z’ on it (given as a farewell gift from my colleagues), I found myself in the hallways and print rooms of Camberwell College of Art.
I was drawn to stories and narratives in art. At the time I was pouring over the work of Zoe Taylor’s mysterious figures and the abstract collages of Matthew Richardson. Studying art has been an incredible personal journal, which culminated in a circus-themed end of degree exhibition and a reflective journal amounting to nearly 35k words. It was during the national lock-down I grew out of the kitchen table and found myself a studio with SPACE in East London.
Three art degrees later, all these experiences have added to the grammar of image-making. In my practice I enjoy the spontaneous movement of ink, whether I'm drawing with a kebab stick or painting gestural strokes onto a printing plate. Intuitively drawings pass through processes such as printmaking to invite ‘happy accidents’. I take inspiration from life, found imagery, stories and imagination.