I’m a Northern Irish maker, illustrator and dabbler in stop motion and digital animation. I’m interested in making work in a sequential format, exploring themes surrounding nature, community and togetherness. My work is characterised by its tactility and gentleness. I love to incorporate paper textures, mark-making and harmonious colour schemes to evoke narrative and setting.

During my final year in illustration I have been creating sequential picture books which are inspired by old photographs and archive material. I have adopted a technique which uses paper cut-out silhouettes placed over a light-box. I like to layer different translucencies of paper and play with textured mark-making which I can then digitally collage and draw over. Working in this way has allowed me to communicate through my image-making in a way that feels reminiscent of old photography.

Both illustrated books focused on groups of marginalised communities in an attempt to highlight their stories and champion their voices. The Seneca Village Project is based on the community which existed between the years 1825 and 1857 in Upper Manhattan. It was a vibrant and prosperous village founded by free black Americans. It was pioneering for its time as it offered a home for its marginalised residents which was free from discrimination. Using paper textures and character silhouettes I composed images that are reminiscent of the rare photographs existing from this time and of this village.

The Claudia Andujar and Yanomami book project is based on the work and activism of Brazilian artist Claudia Andujar. For over five decades starting in the 1970s, she devoted her life to photographing, collaborating with and defending the Yanomami, one of Brazil’s largest indigenous peoples. I combined light-box work with drawing, painting and digital collage to create these images which are inspired by the photographs taken from around that time.