The first thing I want to make clear: If you are in any way upset, repelled or offended by some of this material, that's probably a good thing. Whilst I and others enjoy art of this nature, I don't believe any of us feel that the subject is, in any way wholesome, good clean fun. That's kind of the point. It is pure escapism, a fantasy and nothing more. We recognize the fact that anybody who thinks for a minute that the activities I portray are in anyway acceptable in the real world is clearly in need of industrial-strength therapy.

Having said that, I refute the misconception that we are all slavering, misogynistic, abusers and wannabe serial killers lurking in dark corners until we can gather up the courage to enact our darkest fantasies in the real world. Obviously I can only speak for myself and the friends I have met on and offline who share a common interest. But I can say of those people that they are by and large caring, generally liberal and most, though it may strike you as odd, have extremely strong views on human rights, equality and are vehemently opposed to violence in any form. Oh, and did I mention at least half if not more are in fact, women.

Which leads to the obvious question why do it at all? You can ask that of any art form and any genre, but as answers go, that's more than a little glib. Humanity has always been fascinated by inhumanity. By it's darker instincts, the grim and the grotesque. Our very fear of death gives it something of a siren call. One only has to look at church carvings or the work of artists like Albrecht Dürer and Bruegel the Elder. Not that I'm comparing myself to such masters of the macabre.

If I'm honest, my own influences own more to the popular culture of my youth. Most specifically Hammer Studios output in the sixties, seventies and eighties. Campy, gory and gloriously over the top, it was a beautifully trashy milestone in the eroticism of horror and I loved it.

Sensibilities have changed over the decades and the audience expects to see more than could ever be shown at the pictures in the last century as shown by modern slasher-comedies like Severance and The Cottage. Society is also, for better or for worse more sexualised than ever which also influences my work. So whilst it may seem presumptuous, I consider my work to be my own humble contribution to that fine tradition of camp erotic noir horror.