About:

 

 

I am a curator, interdisciplinary artist and writer from Bristol. My work focuses on misrepresentation, identity, rape culture, sexism, sex and stigma, and mental health.

 

As a survivor of rape, sexual violence, grooming by a trafficker and chronic mental illness, I feel strongly that those making work about these issues should have lived-experience. Having worked within the arts for many years, I have found it very exclusive and inaccessible to many people. A lot of what I do focuses on exploring how to make it art and spaces more inclusive and inviting to all.

 

I studied Photography at Camberwell in 2008 but found the space was, at the time, catered mainly to middle-class students, so I found it hard to feel comfortable or connected. A combination of this and struggling with PTSD and ADHD meant I left after a year. I then went on to study Graphic Design at University of the West of England in 2010 where I ended up creating film, 3D installations, and mixed media work, finding more interest in what would be considered fine art. I became obsessed with interactive art and using it as a tool to question and highlight social and human rights issues. 

 

After University I worked at St Mungos Recovery College as a course leader, at The Big Issue Foundation as a creative projects director and ran my own multi-media Queer night in Bristol that curated music, performance, film, photography and interactive art. I worked temporarily on The Board of Directors for The Bristol Cable, an independent media platform but left discovering my role was purely tokenistic and the platform was run by middle-class white men who were re-writing people’s stories. I started doing more work around real representation and inclusivity. 

 

This led me to found See It From Her+ in 2016. A platform that supported all women to challenge misrepresentation and own their stories through photography, film and image. We ran a mentoring project, workshops, courses, curated exhibitions and different events based around identity, gender and sexuality.

 

For this work I was nominated and chosen for the 2017 Happy City Initiative Awards, nominated and named on for Amnesty International's map of human rights defenders Suffragette Spirit Map of Britain 2018 and won Bristol Women's Voice: Wonderful Woman Award 2018.

 

My work has been regularly commissioned for community projects within Bristol and I was invited to be the resident artist for The Social Muscle Club 2018. 

 

I then went on to set up SLEEC in 2019, a survivor-led platform that tackles male violence, rape culture and sexism through writing, image and multi-media events.

 

My independent work varies from photography, film, illustration, interactive art to facilitating and curating spaces for change.