Jo's practice encompasses working in both public and personal places thinking through the processes of drawing and making. This results in abstracted work that can occupy spaces, whether in a public building, on the street or in a gallery.
The works are essentially concerned with the idea and will also draw from diverse subjects such as natural forms, shared histories, architecture, embroidery and geometry. Always being curious and investigating new ways of working.
Jo is passionate about creating work for public space and finding ways to brings art outside. Public art has the power to give a sense of wonder and beauty to everyday life as people may pass it every day. The works are developed out of a period of research and engagement with communities, commissioners, designers, fabricators and stakeholders, bringing people into the conversation leading to the final artwork.
Making public work for Jo is essentially about bring people together and creating artworks that can benefit many audiences. Her approach attempts to walk that delicate line between artistic excellence, originality, sense of place and practicality.
Jo is an established site-specific artist working in the public realm with more than 25 years experience of delivering projects from concept through to installation. She has undertaken projects in the UK and internationally. Originally studying embroidery at Birmingham School of Art, she has worked in a range of formats from stitch to drawing, sculpture, temporary installation-based works and recently ceramic. She is a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors and an associate artist at the Sainsbury Centre For Visual Arts, Norwich and Cohere arts, Suffolk.
Jo is based in Suffolk UK.