About the Artist
Biography
I am a queer, nonbinary, neurodivergent artist, scientist and activist based in the vibrant historic city of Edinburgh, Scotland. I grew up between Germany and England, have travelled and lived in many countries, and now split my time and creative practice between Edinburgh and my small farm in the verdant volcanic heights of Gran Canaria, Spain. This experience of living between cultures strongly influences my work, which explores identity, the shared human experience and how we relate to one-another. My formal academic training is in the sciences, which drives my connection with the alchemy of the materials I work with. Since making a serious commitment to my art practice in 2024, I have exhibited nationally in curated gallery shows in London, Edinburgh and across the UK, including as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and have won regional prizes for my work. I am a member of Edinburgh Printmakers where I create my stone lithographs and etchings, while my relief prints are printed in my home studio in the heart of Edinburgh. I am a member of two Scotland-based artist collectives, Printmakers of Scotland and the Neuk Collective of neurodivergent artists.
My pronouns are he/they.
About my work
My work explores our shared communal stories, our hidden inner narratives, and the identities, connections and divisions we construct in response to the people and world around us. I am especially drawn to the spaces we inhabit between multiple lived realities, and how we resolve dual identities to present a curated version of ourselves. Much of my recent work has focussed on an exploration of masks and the tension between our internal narratives and the idealised personas we create, questioning who we construct masks for: ourselves or to meet the expectations of others? I find myself returning often to natural materials like limestone, rust and coal that undergo transformations and coexist in multiple states, reflecting not only my multicultural heritage but also the gender-queer and AuDHD experience.
I mostly work in relief printing (woodcut and mokuhanga), etching, and lithography (using stone and wood as substrates). I am enthralled by printmaking as a medium and the magical transformation that the image undergoes from the physical three-dimensional image I work into wood, metal or stone, which is translated into a visual two-dimensional artwork on paper through the printing process. This moment of transformation from the tactile to the visual is always just beyond my reach as the artist creator. I can neither see nor feel that moment, and I find in this a beautiful symmetry with the ways in which our lives and experiences transform us in ways that are often outside our control. At the same time, I’m always trying to retain the scars and imperfections of the limestones, copper plates and woodblocks I work with in my final artworks, mirroring our own perceived hidden imperfections.
I count Tracey Emin, Oswaldo Guayasamín, Claude Cahun, Bridget Riley, Evelyne Axell and Matsubara Naoko among my influences.
What’s in a name?
Why do I print under the studio name Caddis Prints? As I was setting myself up as a professional artist and establishing my studio I felt a strong affinity with the aquatic larvae of the caddis fly, which collect seemingly ordinary rocks, twigs and detritus and transform them into beautiful and delicate sanctuaries encasing their fragile bodies. Eventually, caddis fly larvae metamorphose to spread their wings and inhabit a new, bright world as aerial beings. Briefly splendidly beautiful, the caddis fly carries with it the history of its own personal transformation and the materials and experiences that shaped its journey through another world. Similarly to the caddis fly, my work takes everyday human experiences and natural materials, which through my hands and the printing process undergo a metamorphosis from a tactile state of being into visual artworks that inhabit the world of light and colour. Through my process and materials, I strive for my work to incite us to pause and reflect on themes of transformation and the coexistence of multiple lived realities.
Gallery shows
Ironbridge Fine Art Printmaking Competition Exhibition, Ironbridge, England (2025)
Bainbridge Open, The Handbag Factory, London, England (2025)
Art Pride, Fox Yard Studio, Stowmarket, Suffolk, England (2025)
Edinburgh Printmakers Members Show, Edinburgh, Scotland (2025)
Summer Salon, Detail Gallery, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland (2024)
Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers: Small But Mighty, Bankside Gallery, London, England (2024)
Edinburgh Printmakers Members Show, Edinburgh, Scotland (2024)
Prizes and awards
TaxAssist Accountants Madeley Prize (Ironbridge Fine Art Printmaking Competition Exhibition, 2025)