Bio engineering and Regenerative medicine

The focus of this work or maybe the essence explores the amazing world of the scaffold which are only seen through an electron microscope and are the way forward for helping the human body to regenerate itself. The scaffolds are of nano scale and are made up of different polymers which can be created in different forms to assist the cells in the body to reproduce. This 3D world that is never seen to the naked eye is fascinating and beautiful and my work is inspired by that research and that potential. Rejuvenate the large circular sculpture is inspired by the pelvic floor in a female body which is an area of research essential to improving the current technique of plastic mesh that can both damage and fail in the body. Using the flower motif my sculpture seeks to explore the amazing world of scaffolds and the panels are direct images of cells from the research that are laced in to the steel frame to act as a trampoline keeping everything in place as the body begins to regenerate. The flower centre is suggestive of the new cells growing and extending outwards to the rest of the sculpture. The other art works are inspired by different scaffolds all of which have the same gaol to assist the body to help itself and explore these interior worlds hidden away.

Reproduction

My collaboration with Professor Allan Pacey and Sofia Granados Aparici has taken my work into the world of Reproduction exploring the complex research behind fertility and infertility..

Using the cutting edge images from the labs at the University of Sheffield I have digitally printed them onto to canvas and then worked into and onto them with a range of media. The ovary artworks explore the ideas I have digested through my collaborations with the scientists looking at the connections and disconnections that happen when reproduction does not work. My work is able to engage the public through its colour and pattern into this world that is hidden away and can become a talking point whilst retaining its artistic integrity.

Sperma uses research images of sperm from the laboratory as part of the mixed media sculpture and uses its shape and materials to explore the intricate balance in how sperm work and set on the journey of reproduction. The sculpture has many tails akin to an actual sperm but some of these tails are fixed to the wall and there is a tension between movement and being static and fixed. The artwork seeks to ask questions and create an intriguing conduit between art and science