Woodfolk pays homage to a quasi, anthropomorphic – animism. A very human quality is to project human and spirit like qualities onto objects.

The work explores liminal spaces and is descended from fairy tales, spiritualism, mesmerism and surrealism. Inspired by The Victorian use of spiritualism as healing (Victor Hugo, A Conan Doyle and Charles Conan Doyle’s Asylum sketch books.) The photos speak of thresholds to other worlds: In this case magical friendly and benign aspects rather than our terrors, nightmares or fear of nature.

“Fairy folk live in old oak.”

I am interested in how human beings comfort themselves through the use of objects and rituals (including Photography in many human rituals). My practice relies on humor and doctored photography to trigger anthropomorphic projections which highlight the contempory pace, frailties and vulnerabilities of a culture searching for meaning and connection. It seeks to uncover the surreal and non binary nature of things and link up art practices to daily life.

Since studying Anthropology I have been preoccupied with the Victorian fascination with fairies, mesmerism and spiritualism. Their attempts to contact the ‘other side’ unwittingly led to the discovery of the great communications systems of our time: the Telegraph, Morse; the cold cathode ray (TV) and the telephone. Inland Island featured Mary Shelly’s famous supernatural story telling and the Swiss pagan festival of Tschaggatta. For Happy Ending- Happy Ever After, I launched a wedding dress into space: ascending it resembled a white spirit. The past is present Transitional Objects told stories of huge emotional investments through photographs of treasure gathered over a life time- disposed of in an Auction.