Drawn to the Boro
Drawn to the Boro is a series of ten large-scale portraits of Middlesbrough residents, each nominated as an unsung hero by their community. The exhibition opens in 2027.
Middlesbrough was built on migration. Founded in 1830 and grown rapidly through industrial expansion, the town drew workers from across the UK and from much further afield. Migration is woven into its identity — and into mine. My family and I left Middlesbrough in the 1970s and 80s in search of employment. As a child I lived in Africa and Canada. If you look far enough back, we all carry stories of movement; in a town like Middlesbrough, those stories are everywhere.
The project invited nominations for unsung heroes — people who give generously to their communities, act as role models, or quietly strengthen the lives of others. The ten sitters I have worked with span generations, backgrounds and experiences. Some came to Middlesbrough from far away. Some have family who came from somewhere nearer. All have shaped the town in their own way.
Each portrait measures approximately two metres by one metre — the scale of a public painting, not a private one. Pattern and decorative detail enter the work as a form of narration — drawing on embroidery, ornament and symbolism from across cultures and centuries to convey aspects of each sitter's heritage, history and inner life. Every portrait begins from long conversation and is shaped throughout by the sitter's own involvement.
All the sittings are now complete, and the paintings continue to develop in the studio.
"Part of what we are losing as a society is the simple practice of sitting down and listening to someone whose experience is very different to our own. Portraiture is a unique medium for that kind of attention; it asks both the painter and the viewer to slow down, look carefully, and be willing to revise."
I am grateful to every sitter for the openness, time and trust they have given to this project.
Drawn to the Boro is supported by Borderlands, the Creative People and Places programme for Middlesbrough and Redcar & Cleveland, and Arts Council England. The portraits will be exhibited in Middlesbrough in 2027. To follow the project as it develops, please subscribe to the newsletter below.
COMMISSIONS
Portraits made with narrative pattern
Private commissions for those marking a special moment — a parent, a child, a celebration of family life — with pattern and decorative detail drawn from each sitter's own story.
THE PATTERN CHRONICLES
where patterns travel and tell stories
A monthly essay tracing how decorative motifs move across cultures and centuries — with studio notes and glimpses of work in progress alongside.
NEW WORK
Something new in the studio
A new series of paintings exploring the patterns girls inherit.