In 2019 I inherited a collection of family papers from my great uncle, Uncle M. He was 87 and was living with me for several months, and I had been caring for him because he had Alzheimer. As a family we had to manage his house and his estate and when we went to his house we discovered he was a hoarder. He had filled his whole house with books. Piles of books and newspapers were arranged in towers around the house with narrow passage ways to squeeze through. Rooms stuffed full of more and more books, and furniture. I have never experienced anything like it. Through these books he had collected I caught a glimpse of his love of art, music, and architecture.

We began sorting through the hoard and discovered many items of family property and paperwork dating back to my great-grandparents, Uncle M's parents. Amongst the hoard was this beautiful old leather cabin baggage suitcase filled with old papers dating back to 1891. Correspondence, letters, envelopes, stamps, manuscripts, telegrams, dance cards, typed and handwritten, undisturbed for years.

I started my foundation diploma in Art and Design at Manchester School of Art later that year and Uncle M. sadly died from old age. I began using the old paperwork in my artistic practice, notably my final major project titled Time & Memory.

I draw inspiration from the passage of time in the natural world; weathered, rusted, aged, distressed. I use fragments of the old letters and ephemera in my work and these fragments add layers of complexity and esoteric details to my work. I combine these fragments with geometric patters, screen printing, and printmaking to create unique art work which has a gritty vintage street art aesthetic.