My motivation for taking a foundation course comes from a long established love of art which has been tested in many different creative forms of expression over the last four years. I am now keen to pursue this passion into a career in art and design and I see a foundation course as an important step towards this goal.

Living in London there are vast opportunities to visit galleries and be influenced by renowned late artists as well as emerging talents. For example, in a recent exhibition I was inspired by the milk bottle carvings of Gayle Chong Kwan, which led me to create my own installation for my AS project: ‘Structures’. I used various containers which I carved into, mimicking a city.

To broaden my art exposure, I worked for two London galleries: Proud Chelsea and Studio 106 where I also exhibited my dry point and monoprints. In addition I took a course led by the artist Michael Clark and have been fortunate to enjoy a week of work experience with Amanda Wakely’s design company and a week at the fashion company Pera.

I am currently exploring portraiture through the work of artists such as Lucien Freud, Giacometti and Tracey Emin. I have been fascinated by the psychology and themes behind their work and have noticed links between this and my studies in English. For example, in Emin’s self portrait ‘My Bed’, she presents the bed as it was after she had not got up from it for several days due to suicidal depression caused by relationship difficulties; she describes it as the aftermath of a nervous breakdown. This visual representation of the breakdown of a functioning individual made an interesting link with gothic characters that lose control of themselves under extreme emotional pressure.