© Glorious Freedom (2021), Mixed media on canvas, 19" x 19"/ 48cm x 48cm

Moving into a more representational aesthetic, I decided I wanted to be more vocal about the Black Lives Matter movement. As a white, English person, and coming from Cornwall which is at times quite old school, I wasn’t educated on race issues whilst in school. Furthermore, I think there was only one or two people in my school that weren’t white. Yet I grew up idolising many black vocalists. I was obsessed with and still do love gospel choirs and genres like blues and soul. I started singing at a young age and noticed the difference in the vocal qualities of black singers compared to my voice. Not just because I wasn’t accomplished but their tone was always richer. From that discovery, I always felt like black people had a magic that white people like me will never have and I wanted to protect them so they could share that magic with more of the world. I know how naive and silly that sounds and via my Buddhist practice over the last 10 years I have come to realise that every person has magic within them and it doesn’t matter what shade your skin is. Through the race protests, it has been highlighted that being white really has been treated as a privilege for many things and that black or mixed race people have had to fight so much harder to have the same access to things. So as I was painting this piece, I wanted to put myself in the shoes of a black woman and let her be heard. Not only does self expression mean everything to me, but being heard, understood and taken seriously is of utmost importance to me. I believe every person, regardless of specifics, should be given the same chance in life and I’d like to offer a platform to do that.

I am very happy to hear that justice has been achieved today for George Floyd too. Nobody should be killed by the very people who should be protecting society. And definitely not because of their skin tone.