Biography

When I went to art college it opened up a whole new arena, in that art no longer had to be about drawing and painting but could be conceptual. Plus it was becoming more difficult for me to draw and paint physically so I started drawing with the computer. Eventually I moved onto video editing. I realised that with films you can say so much more. If you’re an editor you have control over many different variables: sound, image, movement, style, etc. For me, it became apparent that this medium had no physical limitations and through my art practice video and digital images have become the primary tool I use to communicate my ideas.

One of the first films I ever made was an experimental video set in Soho which was based on the concept of altering the physical aesthetics of a person, among other ideas. I strapped a video camera secretly to the back of my wheelchair. I had my friend, Glynis, who is also in a wheelchair, follow me, dressed provocatively like a diva, with red lipstick, a bright wig, a bright dress, high heels and a feather boa. I was fascinated to see how people might respond to her and I wanted to capture this on film. My wheelchair functioned as a dolly for the camera as we whizzed around Soho in and out of sex shops. The final video was upbeat with a dance music track that I created for it. Glynis was responded to as a sexual object by the men we encountered, as opposed to a disabled person seen through the medical model and inspiring pity.

In parallel with the films, myself and a friend, Sean Donaghey, had begun a performance duo under the aegis of ‘Plastic Anorexic’, we performed in many venues around the UK including the ICA. We described ourselves as indulging in massive humiliation and disrespect. Both performers are artists in their own right who use multifarious materials and techniques to electrocute their audience. Our most infamous hit was “God Save the Queen”, a satirical song honing in on the inadequacies of the royal family in a camp, kitsch style.

Whilst at Goldsmiths completing my MA in Fine Art, my concerns as an artist developed as I continued to explore ways of subverting the medical model of disability. Taking the representation of physical difference as a starting point, my objective is to highlight the absurdity of responses towards physical difference in stereotypical situations and within a liberal social setting.

I make films that either highlight the tragedy and pity implicit in medical model representations of disability or present a completely alternative picture of physical difference. The most recent examples of this are The Interview, a fictional radio interview, and The Way Out trailer, a collaborative work. In my practice I undertake to produce work that challenges and subverts notions of difference through a torrent of scenes excelling in absurdity, irony and humour.

In 2004 I became part of the collective of disability artists called 15mm Films and I performed in and edited the film Staircase Miracles.

Through my latest collaborative work with Aaron Williamson, showcased at Gasworks Gallery, and described as “confidently stroppy”, I was able to let go of my old conceptual approach. The premise of most of my past work was to play with and subvert the medical and social models of disability by creating an alternative representation. This time the works were parodies of other artists’ work which meant that my old thinking was no longer applicable. It gave me a new structure or foundation to work from which was liberating and I feel future works will benefit from this.

In a collaborative piece with Aaron Williamson, showcased at Gasworks Gallery, we paid homage to a range of artists and characters including Dinos and Jake Chapman, Busby Berkeley and Tom & Jerry. For these works, I was able to let go of my old conceptual approach. The premise of most of my past work was to play with and subvert the medical and social models of disability by creating an alternative representation. This time the initial impetus was to parody the work of other artists’ yet the final result was still in tune with work I had done in the past in that it challenged the social and medical model of disability. Even though this was not the starting point, or the initial impulse, this goal was accomplished regardless. This was extremely liberating in that it gave me a new structure or foundation to work from and I feel future works will benefit from this.

After being interviewed by BBC Southern Radio. I reedited the recording and had it replayed on Make Your Own Damn Music, Bob and Roberta Smith’s radio show. The original interview was a flurry of derogatory questions informed by a clichéd medical model standpoint. In my re-edit, I stuck to the original interviewer’s questions but altered our responses by depicting myself as a suicidal yet self-promoting artist and her as a self-pitying transvestite. The tranny’s words are limited to scientific jargon explaining her medical condition whilst my alter-ego flips between self-promotion, confrontation and sarcasm.

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