麻豆社

How did you get started?

I started off by making drawings of horses and selling them at country shows and people began asking me to do commissions of horses, and I realised I had to learn about art so enrolled at Green Lane on the GNVQ art course.

I progressed within a year on a two year course so got to skip a year, and applied for a BA at Teesside Uni and am currently going into my second year.

Craig filming Chicks on Speed

How are you involved with MIMA ?

I became involved by going to a lecture by Judith Winter and Gemma Millward, showed them my work and got asked to make a film for them about Chicks on Speed at Middlesbrough Music Live.

What did you do with Chicks on Speed?

I enjoyed all the bands I worked with on the day but especially COS, they had a real energy about them and I found them really easy to film.

The sound became kind of muffled due to me been lodged in a speaker, but I took the best of each performer and stitched a film together, and making the film was fun, if a little scary.

What inspires you?

At the moment I'm very inspired by German work, construction and barren space.

My main inspirations are, building sites, DIY shops, bad plaster jobs, and I鈥檓 really into Gregor Schnider, Tal R, Dexter Dalwood, Richard Serra, and Phyllida Barlow.

What do you think of the art scene round here?

I think this place is bursting with energy waiting to explode.

It鈥檚 a repressed art scene where everyone kind of keeps to themselves, and I hope with MIMA that young talent may emerge from the woodwork.

The frustration I get from living and working around here makes me more determined to stay until I see some progress. I think we still have the syndrome of get your foundation done and move away which isn鈥檛 wrong, but I think its more exciting to be in a place which is just beginning to establish itself.

Who do you rate locally?

The 15 Minute Society are a great local band, but art 鈥搘ise, I don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 anyone really who鈥檚 come out of Middlesbrough and made me ecstatic. I鈥檓 still waiting.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?

Being short listed out of 60,000 students in the Tees Valley awards, and actually going to art college after years of doing nothing but drawing.

What you up to next?

I鈥檓 planning an October exhibition with MIMA and really want to go for it with my second year at uni, with lots of ideas and more direction.

I鈥檓 also doing some more performance work on November 13th at the Georgian Theatre and I鈥檇 really like to get to more shows around Europe too, but ultimately I want to go to Central St Martins for my MA in Sculpture.