As my time at Picture This came to a close, I was offered an AHRC scholarship to study an MFA at the Slade School of Fine Art, a result thanks to the critical portfolio feedback I received from colleagues at Picture This and Spike Island. I completed the MFA in Fine Art Media with a distinction and the works I had produced for my degree show have been exhibited internationally at film festivals and galleries, occasionally collecting an award.
I continue to work rigorously on my art practice at a studio in Peckham, where I have been working for over a year. I’m currently applying to artists’ film and video production schemes such as FLAMIN and Jerwood/FVU Awards as personal projects grow in their ambition and scope. These projects are also greatly informed by the type of employment I seek:working on the sets of commercials, music videos, documentaries and artists’ films in an array of roles – all of which were informed and developed initially by my time at Picture This – runner, production assistant, art department, videographer, first assistant director and more recently producer and director. A few of these commercial jobs have taken me to exotic locations with a wonderful crew who teach me about equipment and methods of production, other jobs have introduced me to other artists and curators, so there is a great cross pollination between the two career paths, and while one enables me to continue to live and work in London, the other enables me to pursue a career as an artist.
