I position my work somewhere between the mythological images of the spirit gods of Fiji the land of my birth, the neon organic world of Kenny Scharf and the order and chaos of Franz Ackermann’s dynamic architectural paintings. A strange combination that somehow feels right. There is fluidity to Scharf’s work that seems to hold the rhythm of traditional ceremonial dance music where the spirits have been morphed into contemporary street culture, and in Ackermann’s work I look to the elements of order that allow the more lyrical areas to flow from.

I find great joy in creating abstract paintings that have “everything of everything” I like to see how paint is being used, thick gooey swatches of impasto juxtaposed with wandering drips, hurried mark making, and a variety of defined shapes & forms, some to be tonal and graphic in style while others remaining flat, cutting out bits of the canvas leaving some bits on, applying and removing, destroying and creating.

I enjoy merging images from my present urban experience with those of my rural homeland. I have created a whole series of work using modern computer programmes to edit and collage different images. I began to realize that I could blend my love for both worlds together through my paintings.

It’s like the Old and the New mixed together as one, the old referring to the rural laid back life and the new referring to the fast pace of modern life. Some of my paintings demonstrate how I have tried to incorporate my interest in modern technology with my cultural background to create an unusual yet intriguing and complex image.

I can’t escape who I am in my work. As Beatrice Milhaze states: “The paintings are formed by the atmosphere of my city…by the natural light, sea, and the carnival”…Beatrice Milhaze.

I want the colours and textures used in my work to give the viewer a sense of my cultural background and interests but I also want them to sense how this has been combined and blended together with images of my experiences of living in London.