Natural/History is a selection of drawings, paintings, collages and prints that explore the richness and complexity of the natural world, interpreted and represented in archives and museum collections. Inspiration has come from a range of sources, including the anatomy museum in the Ecole des Beaux Arts, Paris, Surgeons Hall Library, Edinburgh, The Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, The University of Edinburgh Old Medical School and the Scottish Ornithology Club archive as well as my own collections and my garden.
I try to reconfigure memories of these places and things, using collage and mixed media to emphasise rich juxtapositions, contrasts and alignments. The works are constructed from source material (observational drawings, photographs, maps, diagrams and texts) combined with imaginary, often abstracted forms and marks.
I often work in series, so individual artworks feed off and influence others in their group. Many are inspired by a fascination with representations of human anatomy while others reference my interests in anthropology, ornithology and botany. I like to play with reality and invention, hinting at connections.