About my artwork, and… aliens?

My work leads viewers into the gaze of creatures who experience the world with different minds and sensory inputs. I want to provoke the questions: What do ‘consciousness’ and ‘intelligence’ really mean? To what extent have our human-centred biases prevented us from recognising and respecting different forms of consciousness?

Exploration to find or communicate with intelligent life beyond Earth is a growing field. That’s exciting! But we have a poor track record of compassion and respect for diverse species right here on Earth. We even struggle to treat other humans with respect if they look and act very differently from us. So how do we really stack up as galactic citizens? Are we ready to meet life beyond Earth?

I was an 80’s teenager, raised on Star Wars, ET and Close Encounters. Maybe that’s why I’m convinced we will eventually find life beyond Earth - possibly very intelligent life. My studies in evolutionary biology left me no reason to doubt that more life will be found out there, beyond our tiny world.

As an artist, I refuse to ‘stay in my lane’ - I want to reach out and have a voice on this journey. I want to inspire new ways of thinking about our place in the world, and in the universe. Better stewardship here on Earth is essential to preserve our natural heritage, to protect our wellbeing and to prepare us for whatever is to come. My art is a visual and abiding voice, asking people to look again at nature, to wonder, to recognise and connect with ‘being’ in all its diversity.