ABOUT

Growing up, I drew a little, but most of my childhood memories involved playing football. Early Saturday morning drives in my dad’s Vauxhall Vectra were mostly spent in silence as I anxiously anticipated kick-off. The nerves were helped a little by the pre-match meal of a Mars bar and a Lucozade Sport, but I guess I’ve always been quite pessimistic, which worked well for me as a central defender. Despite not being particularly tall or strong, I was great at reading where the ball would go. Good old pessimism.

Sadly, this trait developed into more of a weakness. ’Tall and strong’ are perhaps more desirable traits for growing up in South London. As such, I found ways to hide and suppress any kind of self-expression I possessed. An overindulgence in sugar paired nicely with video games as a young teenager, before weed accompanied the skatepark in my late teens. Naturally, the pub is the final evolution for a British male seeking to blend in.

While rerouting myself towards some kind of discipline, I make paintings to be a little more positive. Camouflage shaped a lot of my childhood through its influence on video games and streetwear, and by creating ‘Camouflage with depth,’ I aim to explore empathy and compassion as an asset rather than a hindrance.