WHAT AM I DOING?
The series What Am I Doing? emerged from a period of transition following my move to the south-west of England. Over time, I’ve interrogated the boundaries between personal identity and the roles we inhabit in everyday life. This series reflects that inquiry, presenting works that reside in a space of deliberate ambiguity - free from overt autobiographical markers and open to interpretation.
Although I once considered incorporating an enlarged fingerprint to symbolise a fixed personal signature, that idea remains only a mental echo. Instead, the pieces invite viewers to engage with shifting roles, quiet gestures, and the tension between visibility and anonymity. These works explore how identity can be expressed not through direct representation, but through suggestion, absence, and the subtle interplay of form and context.
Playing A Tune captures a scene inspired by the spontaneous energy of a seaside pub gig. The work presents a figure absorbed in the act of making music—a moment that resonates with both communal interaction and the quiet questioning of one’s purpose. The ambiguity invites the viewer to ponder whether this is a reflection of personal experience or merely an observation of a transient moment of life.
Holding buckets of fish depicts an everyday act rendered with gentle precision, where the act of carrying fish in buckets becomes a metaphor for the burdens and duties that shape our daily existence. The piece remains deliberately open-ended; it questions how routine actions might also be a form of self-definition, without asserting a singular, definitive identity.
Being a lobster introduces a note of the surreal by incorporating an unexpected subject - the lobster. This work, too, refrains from overt storytelling. Instead, it speaks to an internal dialogue about the nature of change and the subtle disorientation that accompanies a move away from familiarity. The presence of the lobster suggests a narrative that is as much about mystery as it is about mundane responsibility.
Together, these three works form a cohesive exploration of the interplay between external activities and internal questioning. By choosing titles that focus solely on the action—rather than on the artist—I seek to leave open the possibility for various interpretations regarding who is behind the deed. The ambiguity is intentional; it is designed to prompt the viewer to engage with the work on multiple levels, reflecting on both the fleeting nature of the moment and the enduring questions of identity.