I am a socially engaged arts practitioner and experience designer. Depending on the nature of the project I will often draw on and bring together expertise, knowledge, insights and perspectives from diverse groups and individuals. I create collaborative site-specific work that is both visually arresting and powerful in meaning. I have become increasingly interested in inclusive approaches to making work that fosters mass participation in the outcomes.

My recent work, from exploring themes of social isolation, poverty, memory and home and hidden histories, has engaged diverse audiences, prompting rich responses and creating resonant and powerful emotional connections with visitors.

Challenging histories and sensitive stories/spaces

My work is often participatory, and always underpinned by a period of research and exploration of the subject matter. It emerges from a belief that working collaboratively - actively involving the people who inhabit the space (e.g. staff, volunteers and visitors) and seeking input from wide ranging contributors - creates impactful and engaging experiences for everyone.

In a recent project, I worked with elderly residents and housing association staff on a north London estate to create an estate-wide light installation and film that not only raised public awareness of the on site social isolation issues, but also helped to tackle these issues by bringing people together to share their stories. I succeeded in creating a new public social space within the Housing Association offices to strengthen these new and remade connections.

I have experience in working with sensitive themes and stories including memorial spaces. In another recent project I actively sought the involvement of volunteers and staff at Kingston Lacy, a National Trust property - many of whom were initially wary and uncertain - to create EXILE, an installation for the Trust's National Public Program, Prejudice and Pride. As a result of this process of collaboration, property staff and volunteers felt ownership over the installation and gained confidence in telling compelling and resonant stories in new ways.

For one aspect of creating EXILE, I recorded a soundscape featuring the voices of numerous volunteers and staff reciting the names of men who were executed for same-sex during the lifetime of William John Bankes, one of Kingston Lacy's former owners. This approach enabled visitors from all kinds of backgrounds to make a connection with a potentially challenging property story through universal experiences of love and loss. Kingston Lacy staff have commented that EXILE has opened up a whole new way of engaging visitors and telling stories that offer memorable and resonant experiences for all.