My current work is mixed-media Junk Sculpture, using large quantities of found objects to create a wide array of characters, animals and wall-pieces. The flotsam and jetsam of modern life is salvaged and re-invented. I collect thousands of  things that appeal to me aesthetically; from rubber ducks, odd socks, driftwood, souvenirs and knick-knacks, soft toys, cow bells, cuckoo clocks, or everyday household objects are combined to create unique one-off pieces. Many are interactive, as simple automata or battery-operated. The resulting work is quirky, exuberant and humorous. It both celebrates and questions global consumerism and combines cultural influences, both local and global.

My response to this project has been to produce an artefact of my own, creating a new image that is aged like an old photograph. As many of the other prints reflected the building’s architecture, I wanted a reminder of the children who worked to build this industrial heritage we are nostalgically recalling. The boy in the print is Jack Dempsey, aged 12. "Merry Little Doffer" is an ironic reference to a folk song of the time about a cheeky child worker (doffer) arguing with his foreman to get his job back.

Title: Merry Little Doffers

Medium: Photec Etching