Debra Swann

I am a visual artist working in sculpture and photography. My work is sculpture based though it can manifest itself in items to be worn or performed with.

The objects I create have a certain authority and suggest function or present themselves as possible props, artefacts or specimens. Whilst these substantiate the fantasies I explores on closer inspection they begin to collapse through the realisation that they are fabrications constructed from every day mundane objects and materials.

The invention of my specimens is inherent to developing the personas I adopt; the scientist, explorer and philanthropist. The transformation of the materials is an important aspect of my work, setting up a tension between what we believe we are looking at and the prosaic every-day. Here, fantasy draws on reality and creates a strange authenticity and value, in turn questioning our belief systems.