My work examines the prosaic in the home environment and the investment in domestic labour made by women as mothers. I’m interested in how the perception of domestic labour might change over generations and how capitalism’s refusal to acknowledge wages for housework affects the gender divide. Motherhood is still unpaid, invisible and not seen as real work and whilst exploring this complex situation, I am aware that I rebel against it but that I am still implicated in it as I am bound up in both love and responsibility for those closest to me.
My daily life provides an unlimited supply of material for my practice and as a busy mother I have little choice but to incorporate it into my work. I often use household appliances and ingredients in my kitchen to make art. Recently, I hacked a basic trackball in order to make a piece of equipment to draw with my vacuum cleaner and record the work. I made a full size record of the work and the arbitrary movement of cleaning was turned into a fine art drawing that became a site of importance in the studio.
Maintenance is a continuing theme in my practice as it transfers the act of care onto the piece of work... the chores are endless so why shouldn’t the piece of art be?
Making work which is engaging and interesting for the viewer is my primary intention and in this way, hopefully my message is delivered without force and not interpreted as being obsessed with identity politics or is in any way narcissistic. Having elements of absurdity and humour are really important to me.
