The Mother of All Journeys

The Mother of All Journeys is a collaborative photographic project, working with my mother to retrace her life history, journeying together to China, Hong Kong and north England. The resulting work has been exhibited worldwide including its inclusion in the DongGang International Photography Festival in South Korea in 201

“There’s an Event Going on in There” – For No Good Reason: A Documentary About Ralph Steadman

Feature article on a documentary about the artist Ralph Steadman

Mouse House Presents... Charlie Duck

I was invited to present a solo exhibition of new work for the inaugural exhibition at Mouse House in August 2023. For the exhibition I showed three new large format wall-based ceramic works made since relocating my studio from the ACME Fire Station Residency Award in London to CAST, Helston in March 2023. The ceramic works were glazed with glazes made from scratch using a range of oxides, clays and fluxes

Michael Palin's Quest for Artemisia

Curious about a powerful but violent painting that caught his eye, Michael Palin sets off on a quest to discover the astonishing story of the forgotten female artist who painted it over 400 years ago. Travelling to Italy in search of Artemisia Gentileschi's tale, Michael encounters her work in Florence, Rome and Naples

Swimming Stars of the Silver Screen and the Construction of Gender in the British Surf, 1890-1967

Clothing for swimming and riding the surf, first on plywood boards known as bellyboards and later on fibreglass surfboards, was developed to suit the chilly waters surrounding the British Isles as growing numbers took to the waves from the nineteenth century onwards. This article traces the development and consumption of such clothing and links it to the style inspiration provided by Hollywood cinema, namely the films featuring Annette Kellerman, Esther Williams and Sandra Dee as Gidget. In spite of the popularity of such films, suitable clothing for swimming, bellyboarding and surfing was often slow to be commercially produced or readily available, so many enthusiasts created homemade versions to serve their needs. In a period (1890-1967) bookended by two waves of feminism, debates around gender roles were given expression, negotiated and renegotiated through dress in the ‘liminal zone’ of the beach, where rules governing neither land nor sea fully applied

ENCOUNTERS BETWEEN DANCE AND DIGITAL MEANING DISCOVERING POTENTIAL IN THE QUESTION OF MOVEMENT

This thesis explores how a series of artistic and philosophical enquiries opened up through dancing with Tools that Propel (TTP), the choreographic improvisation system that was developed (partly) in response to the question ‘how might we create real-time interaction between dance and technology that catalyses growth of new embodied knowledge?’ The difficulty of delineating movements – determining where one movement begins and one ends – underpins the functionality of the TTP; its multiple affordances born of, or affected by, different (digital and human) perceptions of movement are products of recursive causality and make the system (which includes the dancer) self-maintaining (Simondon 2012). This thesis examines these affordances and how problematizing the question ‘what is a movement?’ foregrounds a series of interrelated investigations into how and in what form new embodied knowledge arises with TTP. Incorporating text, video, recorded interview and dialogue this thesis is a record of relational encounters of practices: talking (about technical mentality, agency, choreography, improvisation, dramaturgy, archives, time, ontologies and not knowing); co-developing TTP; moving bodies (material, representational, virtual); reading; and writing. It interrogates TTP’s use by dancers in improvisation and performance over two years and navigates an exploded framework of theory to understand the emergent enquiries. Building on the practice of Merce Cunningham, William Forsythe, and Wayne McGregor amongst others, and Mark Coniglio’s concept of ‘digital intervention’, this thesis contributes to knowledge concerning how technological interventions in choreography produce new physical thinking. Drawing on Karen Barad’s agential realism and Jane Bennett’s vital materiality, Andy Clark and David Chalmers’ extended mind theory, and Brian Rotman’s discussions of the para-self and gesturalhaptic writing, this thesis raises questions concerning bio-eco-technological-becoming as it explores how new choreographic language evolves relationally across human and digital perception and how creative potential is found in a recursive and regenerative process of looking within newly perceived movement. Overall, it suggests that an ecological aesthetics (Stern 2018; Yang 2015) approach to dance/technology collaborations can lead not only to new choreographic thinking, attention, and intention in dancers, but to shifted perceptual awareness and enactment of the dancing self in the world

Sober & Lonely: On generosity, artist-run platforms and new institutional strategies

Dovetailing neatly with relational aesthetics, the subject of generosity has become a buzzword within recent curatorial discourse. This is due, in part, to the shifting position of the audience from passive viewer to active receiver within the methodology of relational procedures. However, over and above the idea of generosity in relation to the artist/viewer relationship, lies the possibility of generosity within the artist/artist relationship. Within my research paper, I will explore the idea of generosity (the act of giving time, resources and attention) as a productive and innovative working methodology within a South African artist-run (new) institutional context. Removed from the commercial and administrative expectations imposed by traditional academic, gallery or competition frameworks, my research will suggest that generosity between peers opens up a unique space for productivity, democracy of process, experimentation and open-ended inquiry in artistic practice. Whilst the process may seem quixotic, there are a number of independent artist-run projects currently operating successfully and sustainably in South Africa based on this very premise. The Parking Gallery (operated by Ruth Sacks and Simon Gush) is one such space, as is the Sober & Lonely Institute for Contemporary Art (SLICA). SLICA, initiated by Lauren von Gogh and myself in 2011, has been running autonomously for over two years. The working methodology is based on the giving of available resources and time to peers. This framework has resulted in numerous talks, seminars, residencies and group shows, many of which involve cross-national collaborations. With limited arts funding and few non-commercial platforms available to artists in South Africa I will advance the methodology of generosity, as evidenced by the work of the Parking Gallery and SLICA, as a possible route to furthering artistic experimentation and productivity within a South African context

Micro enterprises, self-efficacy and knowledge acquisition: evidence from Greece and Spain

Purpose: The purpose of this exploratory study is to investigate the significance of self-efficacy and knowledge acquisition among micro businesses operating in challenging economic environments. The study uses social cognitive theory (SCT) and the knowledge-based theory of the firm (KBTF), and it proposes a refinement of these theoretical frameworks in the context of the study. Design/methodology/approach: A case method was chosen, and face-to-face interviews with 14 owners of firms in island and rural regions of Greece and Spain were conducted. Findings: Content analysis identified the importance of self-efficacy, primarily illustrated by entrepreneurs’ determination and self-motivation, propensity to take risks and ability to anticipate consequences of their actions. Acquisition and accumulation of explicit knowledge, particularly through generational or mentoring processes, and subsequent wealth of tacit knowledge, also emerged as very significant in preparing and guiding entrepreneurs. Various links between the adopted theories and findings emerged, particularly regarding forethought, vicarious learning (SCT) and specialisation in knowledge acquisition (KBTF). Originality/value: The proposed theoretical refinement based on the SCT and KBTF paradigms allows for a more rigorous, in-depth reflection on the links between cognitive elements present in the participating micro entrepreneurs and knowledge-based attributes on their ability to increase organisational resilience. The study also contributes toward the micro business literature and addresses a knowledge gap, particularly, in that contemporary research has not explored entrepreneurial motivations among small firm entrepreneurs. Finally, the practical implications emerging from the findings provide a platform for various stakeholders (associations, government agencies) to appreciate and support entrepreneurs’ needs, notably, of acquiring, increasing and sharing knowledge. © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited

Moth Project: Four Deadlines & a Dinner/TALKCPR Bevan Commission Annual Conference 2017/18

Four Deadlines & a Dinner was a MOTH collaborative practice project working with 20 Stage 2 Graphic Design students at Falmouth University along with external partners from medicine, palliative care, writing, design for the live environment and VR. During this four week period, students worked across a range of death & design projects, they discussed and delivered ideas and potential solutions relating to end of life experiences. With Dr Mark Taubert Clinical Director/Consultant in Palliative Medicine at Velindre NHS Trust, Cardiff, we explored how visual communication designers and medics could benefit from sharing knowledge and skills to impact on policy and practice with regard to end of life matters, in particular with patients with life limiting illness and their choices regarding DNACPR. The work produced from this will exhibited at the Bevan Commission Health and Social Welfare Conference in Wales in September 2017. In collaboration with Ben James, Creative Director at Jotta Design and Anna Kiernan a Senior Lecturer in Writing, we considered our own personal eulogies and innovative ways in which to store our digital selves as either a digital legacy or digital archive beyond our physical life. MOTH hosted a Death Over Dinner party, where our guests were invited to eat and engage in meaningful conversations and questions about the end-of-life, we also held a film night where we screened AfterLife, by Hirokazu Kore-eda: Newly deceased find themselves in a way station somewhere between Heaven and Earth. With the help of caseworkers, each soul is given three days to choose one memory from their life that they will relive for eternity. The project also included a tour of artist’s graves at Falmouth Cemetery run by Glyn Winchester from Falmouth Art Gallery. + Bevan Commission Annual Conference 2017.Swansea Wales. The Bevan Commission is an independent and authoritative think tank made up of international experts who help challenge current NHS thinking and practice to ensure it is fit for the future. It provides its advice to Welsh Government on all matters relating to health, the NHS and social care in Wales.Chaired by Professor Sir Mansel Aylward CB. With Dr Mark Taubert MOTH explored how visual communication designers and medics could benefit from sharing knowledge and skills to impact on policy and practice with regard to end of life matters, in particular with patients with life limiting illness and their choices regarding DNACPR. + NHS talkcpr.wales The MOTH Talk CPR Art in Medicine Project. Talk CPR – Discuss DNACPR Talk CPR’s goal is to encourage conversation about CardioPulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) for people affected by life-limiting and palliative illnesses. Talking about Do Not Attempt CardioPulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) is an important part of advance care planning and can help minimise distress at a later stage. + NICE National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Shared Learning database. The MOTH TalkCPR Art in Medicine Project. The MOTH TalkCPR Art in Medicine Project., January 2018. This submission sets out the journey we took to consider whether graphic design in medical palliative care settings could be a powerful and effective way of addressing practical, psychological, social and spiritual issues that face people at the end of their lives. The 'Talk CPR' project in Wales has multiple facets, including work in 2017 with graphic design lecturers and students from Falmouth University, who have their own End-of-life project called MOTH. This is an 'ethnographical' approach to research, more details of which can be found here. The project lead met art school lecturers and students to describe the issue of resuscitation in palliative settings and tasked them with creating visual and graphic stimuli to encourage frank discussion about future wishes surrounding death, dying and matters such as wishes around cardiopulmonary resuscitation. This resulted in the students creating thought-provoking artwork that looked at dying from a very different angle, compared to the more typical mainstream healthcare approaches of blue background patient information leaflets. Students produced videos, images and photographs. Aims and objectives Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) discussions and forms are nearly always initiated by doctors, and they can be a source of distress, harm and complaints from patients and their loved-ones. In 2015, a national campaign in Wales called 'Sharing and Involving- TalkCPR', sought to put patients at the centre of discussions. As part of this endeavour, the TalkCPR project group led by Dr Mark Taubert, met with the Falmouth University Moth group, to discuss graphic design initiatives for patients to trigger patient led discussions on DNACPR. The brief was for the artwork to bring about reflection and encourage individuals to ask the question: "Would I actually want CPR in the last years of my life?" Furthermore, in line with NICE Guidelines for End of Life Care in adults (QS13), NG31 and NG61 for end of life care for children, infants and young people with life limiting conditions, it sought to encourage patients and healthcare professionals to approach the advance care planning topic without too much trepidation, and without fear of upsetting the person they were talking to. Key learning points Further exhibitions in hospitals are planned for 2018 and 2019. The designs and posters have been used in medical students and junior doctor teaching sessions in Velindre Cancer Centre and in Llandough hospital. One of the Moth/TalkCPR videos has been disseminated via Youtube link on Twitter and has received very positive feedback. Graphic design is everywhere around us, casting its influence and shaping our thoughts and views. But those working in healthcare or experiencing illness often do not have the opportunity to change or influence this art. The Moth/TalkCPR project sought to change this shortfall, whilst also acknowledging that it is difficult to ‘measure the impact of art’, given how each of us perceives and processes such things very differently. The relationship between medicine, death and graphic design helped shape this project and we wanted to explore how art and graphic design can be used to promote and forward NICE guidance on end-of-life care, including the often used advice that we need to talk more about our dying moments

‘Qualitative research proposal: Examining the perceptions of care home staff towards research engagement.’

Despite calls for action, staff working in care homes are typically underrepresented in research literature. Care homes are complex environments which make conducting research in such environments difficult. As a likely result, many care home staff are unfamiliar with research. This is concerning since research is necessary to advance practice and meet the needs of patients. A systematic search of the literature showed there is a paucity of evidence that explores how care home staff perceive research. Method: This qualitative research proposal outlines how data can be collected from care home staff to generate new insights regarding how this workforce perceives research