My work deals with notions of the real and the un-real. I am interested in the idea of other worlds and places. My paintings are modern landscapes that reference the history of painting with an underlying fantastical element. A fleeting familiarity can be found in them that are soon replaced by an ambiguous questioning. A lot of my work is based on the voyages of the H.M.S. Challenger, a ship that explored the oceans in the 19th century. The illustrations that this voyage gathered have been a huge influence on my work. They are drawings of real creatures and plants but contain an otherworldly feeling. These are a starting point for the work along with the old masters such as Corot and Courbet. I combine illustrations I come across with drawings and details from old masters paintings. This is to confuse and divert the reading. In a sense I want to create a familiar abstraction that takes the viewer away from this world for even just a brief period. Many strategies have been employed to create these works to such an extent that the work has taken on a 3-dimensional element in the form of papier mache sculptures. This has brought an installation element to the work and opened up the reading. There is an interesting interplay between the paintings and sculptures. This has broadened the scope of the work and created new possibilities for future exhibitions.