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The Down
Watercolour on Paper
150x170cm
2013
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Nelliel & Yachiru
Watercolour on Paper
150x180cm
2012
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Arkham Asylum
Watercolour on Paper
150x160cm
2012
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In the Country of Hearts
Watercolour on Paper
150x160cm
2012
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Advent Children II
Watercolour on Paper
150x220cm
2012
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Advent Children I
Watercolour on Paper
120x220cm
2012
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Adventure Time (Courtney)
Watercolour on Paper
150x100cm
2013
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Pinkie Pie (Helen)
Watercolour on Paper
150x100cm
2013
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Megacity Coventry: Judge Court
Watercolour on Paper
150x100cm
2013
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Megacity Aberdeen: Judge Lemmy
Watercolour on Paper
150x100cm
2013
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Air Gear Ikki
Watercolour on Paper
150x110cm
2012
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Jenny as Zidane
Watercolour on Paper
150x110cm
2011
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Jo as Yuki Cross
Watercolour on Paper
150x100cm
2011
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Marluxia
Watercolour on Paper
150x90cm
2012
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Pandora's Tower I
Watercolour on Paper
57x76cm
2013
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Pandora's Tower II
Watercolour on Paper
57x76cm
2013
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Resident Evil
Watercolour on Paper
75x100cm
2012
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Kerhys as Fang
Watercolour on Paper
76x56cm
2011
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Marcella as Warrior of Light
Watercolour on Paper
76x56cm
2011
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My most recent work focuses on the Cosplay subculture. Cosplayers are young people who dress up and role-play characters from computer games and Japanese Manga comics. They interact with each other face to face, on social media, and websites centred on Cosplay activities. They meticulously recreate every detail of a character's appearance, constructing fantastical costumes and even taking on personality traits. I am interested in the gap between the real and imagined world experienced by those who engage in this form of escapism. Taking their characters into the urban landscape they use their imagination to transform their surroundings. The presentation of the figures, largely on a plain white background, reinforces the fact that as viewers we are not party to their individual fantasies. We inhabit the same landscape but we are unable to penetrate the Cosplayers' private world, only envisaging small aspects of it. In the Cosplayers' world the everyday objects can be shifted into something full of meaning and significance, and certain landmarks can fluctuate between the real and the imagined. As with the constructed digital universe the imagination of the individual has the ability to transform the mundane into the sublime.
The portraits are intentionally real, presented in a photo-realist style. They not only capture the personalities of the Cosplayers but also present the details of their costumes. In effect these are double portraits of the sitter and their alter ego, with two personalities being represented simultaneously. Their interpretations are subjective and each Cosplayer representing the same character presents an entirely unique vision based on their individual choices.
