My sculptures are inspired by how we connect with each other and the world around us through rituals and ceremonies. In 1985 I went to The Wailing Wall where people pray and leave messages between the cracks of the stones.  After witnessing some intimate and personal moments I realised that this coming together for ritual brought with it a sense of connection for people.  Connection to each other, their spiritual selves and a higher power.  I understood that the stone was not a backdrop for the ritual, but a conduit for transferring, exchanging and connecting energy between people, ancestry and nature itself. This visit profoundly impacted my thinking and my work as I continue to explore the deep connection between people, spirituality and the Earth.

My most recent body of work, Where the Mothers, continues the idea of our connection to the Earth by looking at our direct relationship with the land itself. 

Inspiration came from “Remains of Elmet”, a collection of poems by Ted Hughes and photographs by Fay Godwin. The book celebrates the raw, natural drama of the Calder Valley, looking at how the people are connected to, and are shaped by their landscape while the lands bear witness to what has come before, evidence of past stories as Mother Nature endures with constant momentum. What struck me most was the inseparability of people and place. The valley shapes its inhabitants and they in turn leave themselves within it, as a kind of conversation across time. That idea opened a line of enquiry for me that continues to evolve. I have become very inspired by the belief that our relationship with the Earth is intrinsic and symbiotic. We do not stand apart from the land, but are of it, inseparable from its slow and ancient rhythms. What the Earth offers us goes beyond the physical, if only we would listen.

We are living in a moment of profound disconnection. It’s clear we have inherited a worldview that sees the Earth as a transactional resource and as property, rather than part of us.  The need to re-connect with the Earth as a living, relational and sacred presence is increasingly urgent in today’s modern society.  My sculpture prompts the audience into thoughts about their relationship to our planet as well as encouraging dialogue and shared experiences - helping us to re-connect on a deeper level to what really matters.