I've been a photographer since I could pick up a camera & explored analogue & digital methods. I used & learnt Adobe suite software skills from my studies in 2017, but since then have been relearning & discovering all that can now be done. I've recently self taught & learnt Adobe Suite Softwares using historic skills from my studies, but more recently (in the last 2 years have) experimented & now on the daily creating & working on both independent Zine publications using Adobe InDesign & submitting, supporting & featuring in a range of art collective pieces; Goblin Skate Magazine Transition Zine, Write Clubs 21’ Element Zine to name a few. I work personally with multidisciplinary artists & friends exploring graphic design & copy. I discovered my skills in poetry, writing/copy/edit/proofread & research during Covid-19 as well as earlier studies, & it was one of the most pivotal moments for me, because even though we were “locked down” I continued to take steps into fulfilling & bettering my multi disciplinary essence. I continue allowing myself to look inward so I could look outward, with this I discovered parts of me that I in a previous life could not verbalise. I can confidently say that with each employer or interviewer feedback, my passion has never been doubted. I live & work in Bristol & have submerged myself into the city’s creative arteries, promoting & working in inclusive, cultural & creative industries. I started my professional career @ Bristol Council within the City Office & SEN department; introducing me to this city in different ways. Before Bristol, there was Dorset in which I worked in Children Services advocating access for all; within education, culture, economy, environment, travel & much more, all exploring ways they can be included & a part of their city especially from underdeveloped areas. I currently work part time for The Royal Photographic Society as Volunteer & Member Support Coordinator for all Special Interest Groups, Regions & International Chapters with the aim of photography for everyone regardless of background. Within this role I’ve lead & assisted on many Events, Exhibitions & workshops, e.g. RPS Young Carers: Life in Focus, Into Film club, Cyanotype Workshops, annual BOP Festival working with Paintworks Event spaces & the Martin Parr Foundation, RPS IPE 164, I'm also shortlisted for the International Photography Exhibition 165. I also freelance as a Gallery Supervisor & Exhibitions/Events Assistant for the Martin Parr Foundation & have assisted the set up for Craig Atkinson’s Cafe Royal Books, Gerry Badger & Martin Parr Another Country seminar + more. Nan Goldin said; having a camera in my hand is how I survive. I resonate with this passionately, when I was a kid amidst trauma to pick up my camera felt like I could finally exhale & from then on I've nurtured my creativity, when I fall or feel like I’ve failed in some aspect I get up gratefully & stronger for it. I very rarely give up & would work hard & research all possible avenues to reach my own creative goals & collaborators/employers’. Of course life happened, including a plethora of peaks & troughs & it took me a long time to rediscover myself, after a 9 year relationship. I describe it as an unintentional sabbatical from my true self which did put my creative skills on the backburner but in 2019 I rose from the embers that I used to just about be surviving on & decided to pursue a career in the creative sector. I've been freelancing & volunteering in a range of fields from Oxfam Cotham’s Fashion Photographer, AKA Berlin International Submissions Exhibition Assistant, PhotoJournalist for Dorchester Voice & What’s up What’s On, to stewarding for My Cause UK for MIND, therefore, bringing me to where I'm today. I'm creative to my core & in a constant state of awe in learning & bettering myself & am starting a Documentary Photography & print BA September 23’. I'm proud of where I'm & I can’t wait to grow & continue this feeling in my future ventures. I remind myself everyday to not give myself a ceiling, to quote David Bowie; Always go a bit further into the water than you feel capable of being in. Go a bit out of your depth & when you feel your feet aren’t quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting. I'm creatively minded & am an artist with a symphony of connections within my left & right hemispheres of my brain. I'm individual but do not work unilaterally. By bearing a vast range of interests my brain connects with everything & therefore can learn from every stimulus, so to be able freelance, collaborate & work in other realms is the only journey I want to be on. I would use this attitude & work ethic to each project & brief I work on. I'm inherently proactive in the promotion of arts, established & emerging talents & regularly attend creative fairs, artist talks & events at any gallery I've the chance to visit, all to assist with artistic research.
Photography
