About the Work

Since late 2019, I have been working with hand-extruded silicone using a simple extrusion or caulking gun, experimenting freehand with this alternative, yet everyday material that I find so intriguing and satisfying to work with.

It can be elegant, extravagant, cheeky, gooey, voluptuous and bold. I also love how working in this way feels simultaneously like drawing, painting and sculpting. I’ve begun to approach making pieces with these more distinct traditional mediums in mind.

The process of extruding itself is both strange and joyful. Whilst I set out on each piece with a rough idea of what could happen, I deliberately leave the end outcome open and hope for an experience with the material where I am surprised by what it is physically doing, but I can respond and work with it in the moment.

Depending on the piece, there can be quite a lot of preparation beforehand. When it comes time to ‘extrude', I have to ready myself mentally and set my organising and practical head aside. At that point, there is a degree of fear as I don’t know if the piece will have a good outcome - I could have wasted all the preparation as there is no undoing or editing possible once its done. There are several artworks that have been destroyed along the way. But to be philosophical, these failures allow me to get better at making the work I want to make next. Despite any stumbling blocks, the process itself is the really enjoyable and satisfying part of my life as an artist - I hope to be able to keep doing it in more interesting and extravagant ways.