“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” - Michelangelo. I explored self-creation and emancipation in my body of work, inspired by classical Greek and Roman marble sculptures of the perfected human form. The octopus, itself a symbol of creativity, is one of the few creatures that manipulates tools for its own benefit. The creature’s tentacles clasp the tools as it hews itself from the very stone that entraps or births it. My work pays homage to the idea that art imitates life. The search for perfection, which the ancients strove for, is still worthy of pursuit today.

My body of work is a clear response to coral bleaching and plastic pollution in the ocean. My ceramic reef systems represent what's occurring all around the globe, with pieces of plastic making the imbalance between nature and manufactured waste evident. While maintaining visual appeal, the plastic stands as a cruel reminder of how the synthetic elements effortlessly intertwine with the organic construction of coral reefs. Glass marbles create depth in the crevices of my sculptures and, combined with the pieces of plastic, help the audience to visually recognise how coral starve, leaving their ‘bleached’ skeleton behind.

My body of work is a representation of the effects of Alzheimer's disease on both the individual affected and their surrounding family. I chose to use ceramics as my medium as the fragile, breakable material expresses the fragility of life and human connection. The decay of a person’s mind is represented in the form of a building being destroyed, while the collection of Polaroid photos and the sculpted hands give insight into my personal experience, having to witness my grandfather's decline due to this incurable disease.

Fragility is a tribute to my grandfather, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. It explores the complex and fragile state of the human mind, represented through the intricate form of entangled coils and precariously balanced brains in conjunction with a sense of leaching colour. My work expresses the sad reality of the effects of Alzheimer's, where the mind is slowly destroyed and only leaves a fragment of the person behind.

The utilitarian nature of many everyday objects often masks the beauty in their form. In my body of work I question the unconscious differentiation that we make between art and household tools, highlighting the aesthetic details of these forms by removing them from their intended purpose. Liquid porcelain served as the perfect medium as it removed the transparency of glass, allowing the viewer to see past the objects' lines both physically and metaphorically. Porcelain also enabled me to add an unglazed surface to the works, thus removing their ability to function conventionally.

My body of work uses structures to investigate the disparity between human agency – the ability individuals have to make their own choices – and influential elements such as social class, gender, religion and ethnicity. The work is a scathing social commentary on 'The Block', Redfern, owned by the Aboriginal Housing Company. An environment that was once filled with vibrancy and culture is now dedicated to new development plans. Using clay and ceramic construction I juxtaposed organic and geometric slab structures to create forms that represent the significance of the existing Indigenous and international communities as opposed to the new proposed development.