Pressed for time

What pieces or projects have you been working on lately?
Lately I’ve been working on a series of prints of everyday objects that hold personal and cultural meaning. My recent works feature the London black cab, Euthymol toothpaste, Marlboro cigarettes and, sometimes, a pair of Jimmy Choos. I’m drawn to objects that we typically overlook. By focusing on them, I want to give people a chance to stop and think about their significance, and how these simple items are woven into our shared experiences.

I am currently on an artist residency at The Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Ireland, where I’ve been focused on developing a new body of work for upcoming spring/summer exhibitions. It’s been a great experience working on a series of smaller prints that explore simple, slightly abstract forms.

What did you learn (or unlearn) while working on it?
I learned that I find it a challenge to work on a small scale nowadays. I’m only in Ireland for two weeks and shipped my materials overseas to be able to work here. Luckily, I’ve got my own press at my Bristol studio in the UK, so I’ll be able to dive back into larger works when I return.

Being on a residency to create work is such a dream, away from the distractions of everyday life, but I’ve really been craving the freedom of working big. To make up for it, I’ve been shifting focus to larger drawings. They’re still fulfilling to work on and much easier to transport home.

What words, ideas or emotions were running through your head?
I felt I had possibly gone on a residency at the wrong time. I had just completed a major body of work, and it felt like I had exhausted my creative receptors.

Being on a residency, there’s this pressure to create your best work, but by day three, I still had no clear sense of the direction of my project. Despite that, I kept sketching anything that came to mind. Slowly, ideas started to form and I began to see a collection taking shape.

Was there any conversation, film, music or book that found its way into this work?
A book that I always come back to for inspiration is Wild Raspberries by Andy Warhol and Suzie Frankfurt, published in 1959. I love Warhol’s earlier illustrative works of food, and especially his extravagant cakes.

What was the most difficult thing you faced this month in your creative process?
At times, I find developing new work challenging. While it aligns with my previous ideas, it also needs to remain fresh for upcoming shows. There are moments when I question whether I’ve already exhausted my strongest ideas, but I still feel a sense of responsibility to continue generating new concepts.

Over time, the ideas do emerge, and I’ve learned that the process often requires patience, persistence and, sometimes, a change of environment.

What is your favourite restaurant and what would you recommend us to have there?
Bristol has some incredible places to eat. My two favourites in the city are Bianchis, where I would recommend any of the pastas because they’re out of this world, and Poco, whose nose-to-tail tasting menu is such a treat.

Both are within five minutes of each other in Montpelier and only three minutes from my house. I am spoiled for choice.

If your life were a movie this month, what would its title be and who would make the soundtrack?
Title: Pressed For Time
Soundtrack: Sergei Rachmaninoff

Have you collaborated with any studios, labs or workshops recently, or would you like to in the future?
I have recently collaborated with filmmakers Ruby Inglehart (Falmouth, Cornwall) and Thomas Gimlette (London) on two short films about my practice.

Their expertise in visual storytelling helped shape the narrative elements of my prints, even though the prints themselves are static. I really enjoyed working with people outside my field and saw my practice in a new light.

Recommend us one or several artists you follow, who inspire you, and tell us what you like most about their work or their way of working.
I’m lucky to live in a city with many artist friends. Jay Harper and Tom Morris are incredible painters, and when I feel stuck I’ll meet up with them or send absurdly long voice notes so we can bounce ideas around. I really value that. It’s like our own group critique.

Jay has this brilliant approach of working with a limited colour palette, focusing on still life and abstract forms. Her ability to choose shapes and create compositions that are so harmonious gives her work a peaceful, almost meditative quality.

On the flip side, Tom is incredibly prolific and has this knack for turning ordinary scenes or objects into striking compositions. Both artists’ work is in high demand from collectors, so if you’re lucky enough to get your hands on one, I’d say jump on it.

All photos of prints photographed by Jo Hounsome.