Witch in a Bottle Series, 2025
I have been developing a body of work around an artefact that is held in the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, UK called the ‘witch in a bottle’ which was found in Surrey, England in 1912.
I have had a long-lasting fascination with this object since I was a child as I would stare into the shiny reflective bottle wondering, what is actually inside? I have returned to it now in my life, as I attempt to answer this question in my work. I have used toy ‘geo-magnets’ and balloons in order to actually try and fit a witch in a bottle and physically 're-create' this artefact in order to understand it more as a form of research. I am examining boundaries, categories and what freedom in restriction can look like. I also recently discovered 'Devils Dyke', a V-shaped valley that is also in Sussex, when researching the etymology of the word 'dyke'. This inspired the painting of the landscapes to feature alongside the balloon series as a ‘grouding’. Perhaps the witch in the bottle came from 'Devil's Dyke' valley? I am using painting as both a legitimation and artefacting of queer experience.
Peck o’ Trouble
Oil and acrylic on linen.
200 x 140cm
Witch in a Bottle Series 1
Oil and acrylic on wood panels.
30 x 41cm
Witch in a Bottle Series 3
Oil, acrylic, paper, latex, geo-magnets on hand-carved stained wood panels.
30 x 30cm
Oil and acrylic on linen
200 x 140cm
2025
Oil and acrylic on wood panels.
30 x 41cm
2025
Oil and acrylic on wood panels.
30 x 41cm
2025
Oil and acrylic on wood panels.
30 x 41cm
2025
Oil and acrylic on wood panels.
30 x 41cm
2024
Oil and acrylic on wood panel
30 x 41cm
2024
Oil and acrylic on wood panel
30 x 41cm
2024
Oil and acrylic on wood panel
30 x 41cm
2024
Oil and acrylic on wood panel
30 x 41cm
2025
Oil and acrylic on wood panels.
30 x 41cm each
2024
Oil and acrylic on wood panels.
30 x 41cm each
2024
Oil and acrylic on wood panels.
30 x 41cm each
2024
Oil, acrylic, paper, latex, geo-magnets on hand-carved stained wood panels.
30 x 30cm
2025
Oil, acrylic, paper, latex, geo-magnets on hand-carved stained wood panels.
30 x 30cm
2025
Oil, acrylic, paper, latex, geo-magnets on hand-carved stained wood panels.
30 x 30cm
2025
Oil, acrylic, paper, latex, geo-magnets on hand-carved stained wood panels.
30 x 30cm
2025
Oil, acrylic, paper, latex, geo-magnets on hand-carved stained wood panels.
30 x 30cm
2025
Balloons, acrylic, paper, latex, geo-magnets and screws on found wood panels.
31 x 15cm each
2025
Balloons, acrylic, paper, latex, geo-magnets and screws on found wood panels.
31 x 15cm
2025
Balloons, acrylic, paper, latex, geo-magnets and screws on found wood panels.
31 x 15cm
2025
Balloons, acrylic, paper, latex, geo-magnets and screws on found wood panels.
31 x 15cm
2025
Balloons, acrylic, paper, latex, geo-magnets and screws on found wood panels.
31 x 15cm
2025
Balloons, acrylic, paper, latex, geo-magnets and screws on found wood panels.
31 x 15cm
2025
Oil, acrylic and latex on canvas.
120 x 80cm
2025
Oil, acrylic and latex on canvas.
120 x 80cm
2025