Artist Statement

I am a Hull-based visual and participatory artist working collaboratively with people and place to help both human and more-than-human communities tell their stories about nature and the climate crisis, often using humour, play and climate hope as entry points into complex or difficult conversations.

My collaborative practice is rooted in cultivating radical compassion, kindness and kinship between humans and the “more-than-human community” – a concept that emphasises the importance of non-human beings within our ecological and social landscapes. I build upon old folk traditions, superstitions and land-based belief systems to weave stories that help us understand and reconnect to our more-than-human kin, often finding that humour and shared storytelling can be a powerful tool for disarming fear and opening dialogue.

I believe my role as an artist is to respond compassionately to place and people, share skills, reflect experience, translate meaning, and ultimately amplify voices from within our expanded community. I believe that transformational change happens when people are able to reframe their relationship with the Earth, moving away from extractive power dynamics towards reciprocal care, and that hope and imaginative fun are vital tools in making that shift feel welcome and possible.

I take an interdisciplinary and emergent approach to making that blends art, ecology, storytelling and social activism. I work across participatory practice, workshops and events, temporary sculpture and land-based installation, experimental drawing, text, ceremonious meaning-making, and intimate ritual or performance.

I frequently work in co-creation with people to share skills, ideas and altered perspectives that nurture kindness towards the natural world, and with more-than-human communities to advocate for their agency and rights within human-led climate conversations. I work to a firm ethical protocol and use natural, biodegradable and/or sustainable site-specific materials in the production of work.

I practice through the lenses of class, feminism, disability, play, climate hope, resilience and solidarity. I am influenced by a wide range of environmental research and eco-sociological practice, including Traditional Ecological Knowledge, environmental philosophies and ethics, permaculture practice, conservation science, foraging and growing, nature-based folklore, ceremony and ritual explored within my own Anglo-Irish ancestry, climate activism, and my own direct experience of ‘listening’ to the Earth.

I am also the Co-Director of arts project The Critical Fish, and the Arts Lead for Hull and East Riding Friends of the Earth. Additionally, I am a musical theatre and cabaret performer, through both community theatre and my on-stage alter ego, Ruby Moon.

Artist Statement

I’m a Hull-based visual and participatory artist. I work with people, places, and landscapes to help both human and more-than-human communities tell their stories about nature and the climate crisis. I often use humour, play, and a sense of climate hope as ways into conversations that can otherwise feel heavy or overwhelming.

A lot of my work is about building care and connection between people and the “more-than-human world”… like animals, plants, rivers, land, and weather. I think of these as important members of the big community we’re part of, not just things we use. I’m interested in old folk stories, traditions, and beliefs about the land, and I use storytelling and humour to help people reconnect with nature in a more personal way.

I think I’m pretty good at listening to places and people, reflecting and translating what I find, and help share the (human and non-human!) voices in our community that often aren’t heard. I believe that part of my job as an artist is to help shift how we think about the Earth – away from taking from it and towards looking after it and working with it, like a friend. For me, hope and imagination are really important tools for making this sort of big change feel possible.

I work in lots of different ways… through workshops, group projects, events, drawing, writing, temporary outdoor artworks, and small ritual-like performances. I often make work with other people, sharing skills and ideas that help us pay more attention to the natural world. It’s also important to me to give nature a voice in human conversations about climate and the environment, so I try to figure out how to best tell their stories too.

I try to use natural or sustainable materials wherever I can, especially when working outdoors. My work is shaped by ideas around fairness, feminism, disability, play, climate hope, and community. I’m influenced by environmental research, traditional ecological knowledge, folklore, permaculture, and my own experience of paying close attention to the natural world.

Alongside my art practice, I am Co-Director of The Critical Fish and Arts Lead for Hull and East Riding Friends of the Earth. I’m also a performer in musical theatre and cabaret, including my on-stage character Ruby Moon!