G.O.A.T
To celebrate the opening of the new City Campus at the University of Gloucestershire local artists were invited to respond to the theme of G.O.A.T- Greatest of All Time. The exhibition was opened by HRH Princess Anne and I was fortunate enough to be selected for inclusion in the exhibition.
This portrait of my partner speaks to the theme of G.O.A.T through the role he plays in my life and work. We first crossed paths at UOG, where our friendship grew into something much deeper when both our mums faced similar health challenges at the same time. From that point onwards he has been a constant source of support, the one who encourages me to keep going in both my art and the everyday.
In that way, it becomes more than just a surface to stitch into: it is a witness to the making, an archive of persistence, and a reminder of the unseen support that allows the visible work to exist. For me, it reflects the way my partner supports and holds me - steadily, without question, and always present. This work honours him as my greatest of all time.
The portrait is stitched into a paint cloth, a material I find both mundane and beautiful. This particular cloth has been with me for a long time, absorbing the labour of dozens of paintings. It carries splashes, stains and marks that are traces of time, energy and process, quietly holding all the mess that sits behind the finished works.