“Siverbeach, National Museum of Kenya, Nairobi, 2011

Wallpaper, digital print

This work was made for the project ‘Sanctuary Part 1, Home, Away and the common ground’ which took place in July 2013 in Kenya.The idea of sanctuary as a place of refuge and retreat relates closely to my work. I approached this project by thinking about the tension between the inside and outside of a home. The idea for the wallpaper piece ‘Silverbeach’ began when I was walking in a woodland.Trees are universal, wood being used to build houses and shelter across the world. The bark from the silver birch became an interesting surface for drawing. So I collected this and flattened it using a wallpaper steamer. Everyday objects from domestic life which had been found discarded on a beach have been juxtaposed with this outer natural surface, bark. All the individual pieces of bark were then made into an assemblage and digitally manipulated to create a repeat pattern for a wallpaper.”