I came to fine art late in life and have discovered that it is providing me with enthusiasm and opportunities to use my own life experience, my own feelings and my own fears about ageing.

I recognise that circumstances for younger generations are very different from those in the past; I want to encourage greater understanding of what ageing can mean.

According to Age UK and NHS, there are two million people over 75 in England living alone, and there are one million who say that they go for over a month without speaking to a friend, neighbour or family member.

In the 2021 census, 270,000 older people aged 65 and over go for a week without speaking to a friend or family member and in 2021, there were almost 1.2 million unpaid carers aged 65 years and over in England and Wales – just over 1 in 10 of the older population – with almost half of these providing more than 50 hours of unpaid care a week.

My current work with video looks at the everyday banalities of life in my old age and relates them as metaphors to a wider human experience.

I feel driven to continue with this theme throughout my life; sometimes, but not always, with video.

I will continue to exhibit with artist collectives at spudWORKS in Sway and look further afield for other exhibition possibilities with the the same collective and other potential collaborators.

I am retired from regular employment and do not need a job, so my energies can be spent on making work.