I am an Anglo-Italian artist living and working in Rome.
I have been greatly influenced both by my English and Italian backgrounds and ever since I remember, I have always struggled with the clash between the two cultures and strived to combine and harmonize two very diverse existential modes: the stoic, self - restrained northern English and the emotional, Baroquian southern Italian.
Art imitates life: in my collages, I place diverse elements together on a support, in such a way that they complement and enhance each other, in an attempt to create a harmonious whole.
I work mainly with collage. I glue paper onto a board, canvas or paper support and I apply watercolour pencils, acrylic or oil paint onto it. I often incorporate photographs in my work, which I cut up and paste onto the support.
I also enjoy combining printmaking and collage sometimes stitching into the work with a sewing machine.
The papers I use in my collages I collect every day. They are taken from letters and packages I have received, restaurants where I have eaten, places I have visited. I pick them up from the street, tear them off walls. They are mementos of my life. I apply them to my paintings, thin or thick and consistent, by tearing or cutting . Sometimes they still show traces of stamps, random marks, writing. When they are embedded in my work, the material is no longer fragile but becomes hard and ruthless.
In my recent work, I have strived to make sense of world events by threading together the images I am daily bombarded with and the materials I collect from my every day life. I combine the two to create mental landscapes that underline the impact of collective history on my own personal history.
