"Hydrofeminism, which seeks to understand the ties between humans and water and how inequalities flow through bodies and waters, forms a key conceptual underpinning of my practice. I examine migration through water, viewing it as an archive of wisdom, feeling, and knowledge, while also exploring the migration of water through the body.

 

Practices of repair are central to my approach, realised through tactile processes of fabric archiving using multi-technique textiles such as weaving, tufting, stitching, embroidery, and quilt-making. These processes allow me to develop symbols that articulate a more nuanced and inclusive representation of my complex and conflicting historical heritages, which manifest in a non-binary visual language exploring hydrofeminist ideas, relationships to the land, and rituals of healing and repair.I also embrace the tools of deep listening, vocal modulation, and experimental sounding as a means of researching and embodying specific geographical locations. By mimicking bird songs and attempting to unlearn literal language, I aim to reclaim universal expression and connection through vocalisation, harking back to a prehistoric form of communication that predates formal languages. These sonic explorations often involve field recording and sound design.

 

With heritage rooted in Southern Africa and Cornwall, I have spent considerable time attuning myself to the rhythm of those landscapes, digesting the richness of the natural world, and engaging with contemporary issues. During a recent three-month DYCP project in South Africa, I reconnected with spiritual practices that have survived colonialism, continuously incorporating materials from Muti (traditional medicine stores) into my work, such as pigments derived from medicinal salts, which I use for painting.Shapes, marks, and symbols in my work are often inspired by organic materials such as seaweed, flora, and fauna. I am particularly intrigued by the idea that the water found in most plants and organisms today may have once existed in the bodies of beings thousands of years ago. Drawing on an ancient Southern African belief in the presence of ancestral wisdom within the sea, I have embraced this connection to the ocean and, more broadly, to any organism composed partly of water.

 

When I speak of ancestral wisdom, I am particularly focused on exploring the experiences of historically colonised peoples—their stories, the history that has been deliberately redacted, and the ways of life disrupted in the pursuit of capitalism, exploitation, and domination. I frequently use natural pigments such as ochre from the Southern African landscape for dyeing, printing, and painting, combining these techniques with botanical printing and fabric and yarn dyeing using pigments sourced from Cornwall. These dyed materials are then incorporated into my weaving, tufting, and painting processes, creating work that is deeply rooted in both place and method."