In the first year at Charles Cecil, you spend half the day drawing from plaster casts, it prepares you before moving on to oil paints with real live models. This was the first time I really was able to hold a piece of sculpture, plaster casts made next door at Galleria Romanelli. I will always revisit that gallery, it’s one of the most magical places in the world.

My sculptures rarely begin with an abstract concept or message. They usually begin with a person, a particular pose or composition and simply the desire to create something beautiful. I hope my work gives people's minds somewhere to rest, rather than another problem to think about. 

 Every sculpture begins in clay as it’s the most malleable material, it’s easy to add to and subtract, if you make a mistake or decide to modify the design mid-way through, it’s easy to do so. All it needs is to be kept wet. This way more focus is on the sculpting rather than the material. 

The team and I put together this playlist of songs we have liked or listened to over the past 6 months or so: 

Going Shopping – The Strokes  

Deceptacon – Le Tigre  

If you wanna party come over to my house – Fcukers  

Sleep Dreams – Surprise Chef  

I Believe – Simian Mobile Disco  

Frontier Psychiatrist – The Avalanches  

Mata Zyklek – Angine De Poitrine  

One More Time – Daft Punk  

Glue – Bicep  

So u Kno – Overmono  

School – Four Tet  

Dingaling – Greentea Peng  

Miami – Pigeon  

All Night All Day – Big Thief  

Crosses – Jose Gonzalez 
 

It’d probably be Phidias, not because I'd want to see one particular sculpture being made, but because I'd love to experience what it felt like to be part of a workshop creating something on that scale. Some of history's greatest sculptures weren't isolated masterpieces; they were part of much larger architectural projects. I'd love to witness that atmosphere, although I’m not sure he would be keen on swapping with me! 

Probably plaster. It's often thought of as a temporary or secondary material, but the
more I work with it, the more I appreciate its qualities. It captures extraordinary detail,
has a beautiful surface and, because it's white it allows the light and shade to describe the form so clearly. The Victorians understood that, and I think we've largely forgotten it.

It probably wouldn't be a single sculpture. I'd love to create an enormous glasshouse filled with monumental fountains, trees, oversized plants and hundreds of towering sculptures, creating an entirely different world. I'd like people to feel as though they've wandered into the world of giants, where sculpture becomes part of the landscape rather than the focal point. Our experiences have become increasingly two-dimensional these days - I'd love to create a place that completely envelops us and reminds us of what it felt like to be a child, when the world seemed much bigger and more magical.

For me, it's less about Greek mythology than Greek sculpture. The ancient Greeks
reached an extraordinary understanding of the human figure and created sculptures
that still feel fresh over two thousand years later. They had an incredible ability to
simplify form without losing life or character. I think there is still a huge amount we can
learn from them.

 I hope people realise that sculpture really has to be experienced in person. A photograph can only ever show one view, whereas a sculpture changes as you move around it and as the light changes throughout the day. I hope they leave with a renewed appreciation for experiencing things in real life.