“The real struggle in being vegan doesn’t involve food. The hardest part about being vegan is coming face-to-face with the darker side of humanity and trying to remain hopeful. It’s trying to understand why otherwise good and caring people continue to participate in needless violence against animals - Just for the sake of their own pleasure or convenience.”

- Jo Tyler

The passion that I feel for veganism and animal rights fuels my practice, lacing it with integrity and enthusiasm. The issues raised within my artwork need to be at the forefront of our social and global priorities. I use this creative platform to encourage debate on these matters as I feel that addressing them is crucial to the sustainment of the world. Though my artwork is initially inspired by my ethical views, I always ensure that these are combined with scientific fact to strengthen the argument.

I like to use materials that portray a sense of realism within my artwork, to give an aesthetic that emulates life yet include an aspect of surrealism and/or abstraction in order to create a magnetic allure and intrigue. I feel that a slight inconsistency in familiarity of the piece engages the viewer and urges them to question the artworks purpose, rather than merely see it as an object or sculpture.

I strive for my work to be confrontational, unavoidable, captivating and unforgettable. It should always create an air of discomfort for the viewer in order to encourage self assessment and judgement.

The animal rights debate is a niche area within contemporary fine art, with a small number of artists merely scraping the surface on the importance of investigation into the debate. Therefore, I strongly believe that my practice is not only current and unique, but also unimaginably significant.

My work is largely inspired by the few artists who have dedicated their practice to confronting these issues, specifically L.A Watson and Stephanie Metz. Their sheer devotion and commitment to animal rights has been greatly influential in encouraging me to use art as a platform to encourage change. Furthermore, I heavily rely on the publication of scientific and social studies which seek to question our preconceptions about animals based on health, ethics and the environment. The documentary Food Inc. has been monumental in the development of my work over the past year, inspiring me to create artwork which questions how we use and manipulate animals within farming and food industries.

In conclusion; I believe there are grounds for a vegan future on a global scale. My work aims to challenge the preconceptions built from birth that we have a right to use and abuse animals. It aspires to demonstrate the consequence of our reliance on animals. And it seeks to begin a psychological chain reaction that will culminate in the abolition of the animal slave trade.

My practice portrays this constant and everlasting endeavour. I remain hopeful and anticipative that it may spark a connection, culminating in that “light bulb moment” within society.

― Mahatma Gandhi

My practice is based on my interest in belief systems set in our society and culture. This is fuelled by my passionate beliefs in animal rights and the dedication and commitment to a vegan diet and lifestyle. I use my artwork as a platform to raise awareness of a variety of issues concerning the mistreatment and exploitation of animals caused by human control over the natural world. I aim for my art to not only have its own message, but allow for the viewer to consider their own stance on the issues.

I am often inspired by vegan and animal rights writers, such as Carol J. Adams and Melanie Joy. I feel that studying theory and understanding the facts on animal industries; including farming, hunting and vivisection, is vital to my practice as it creates a sense of plausibility and integrity. This is an extremely important aspect to my art, though my initial motivations to create are through my personal stance on the subject, in order to appeal to a wider audience, I must ensure that my work is fair and not self indulgent.

My methods and techniques vary throughout my practice, though I have recently been drawn towards the mediums of sculpture, photography and film. I feel that sculpture catches the essence of my theme, due to its very physical, hands on approach, thus meaning I can inject much more passion into the creation of my piece. I have also begun experimenting with film for its ability to capture and demonstrate aspects of animal industries which, due to the limitations of a gallery space, are not always achievable through other mediums. My work is largely process driven, however I feel that this reflects the issues which I am exploring. I frequently represent and expose the deliberately hidden systems which produce products for public consumption, with the intention of bringing the final product into a state of disrepute. By encouraging the viewer to question the morality of their lifestyle, my artwork creates a chain reaction which seeks to destabilize the glorified position of these consumer driven corporations.

My style and approach to the issues has developed through the influence of various animal rights artists. A major inspiration in my work is Angela Singer. The activist artist from England recycles taxidermy and reinterprets it with the use of beads and gemstones to recreate the moment of its death. Singers’ techniques create a juxtaposition of beautiful allure versus the subsequent repulsion generating a powerful and unique view of the killing of animals for sport. I am also largely drawn to the work of Ashley Watson. Her stance on animal rights and the oppression of animals is admirable. I especially appreciate the simplicity of her film piece ‘what makes for a grievable life’ in which she buries a store bought chicken. The video wholly represent the total disregard for individual animals’ lives in a beautiful and respectful manner.

I consider my artistic practice to be unique in the sense that there is not a large magnitude of artists tackling issues of animal rights, therefore I believe myself to be part of a niche market. The overall aim of my practice is to raise awareness, encourage debate and be a voice for the voiceless.