Marcel Proust tells us that memory is not only in us; it is us. Hidden within our inner experiences – thoughts, feelings and sensations – are memories and within those memories, an experience of time freed from the confines of chronology. Where time becomes elastic and memory a thousand wormholes scattered across the present. Where a chance experience, an aroma, a taste, or material object can conjure a memory from the past and before we know it, we have fallen into a wormhole and are transported to another time.

As I run my finger around the brim of a hat that my grandmother made, I am transported back to my childhood when she showed me how to wear a hat, tilting it on a slight angle. Her aesthetic sensibility and unapologetic flair left an indelible impression on me. I also spent many happy hours playing dress-up in her wardrobe, making up stories and adventures. I was a great pretender and quickly became fascinated with the wondrous transformative power of fashion, the ability to become somebody new. Fashion is a springboard to explore the joy of losing and finding oneself and conjuring up worlds. It is an invitation to dream. This abiding love affair with fashion permeates my work.

Fashion has long been dismissed by the contemporary art world as transient and vain. But, as Miuccia Prada explains, it is an instant language. It is a form of thought, reflection and meditation as articulate as any poem or equation. It is freighted with meaning, memories and ideas. Moreover, it provides an opportunity to create a narrative and evoke emotion. I continuously make up stories and create mis-en-scenes in my head and, taking inspiration from historical references, aim to translate the past into a contemporary rendition of beauty and romanticism. Beauty and romanticism have also been frowned upon by the contemporary art but as Agnes Martin explains, ‘beauty is the mystery of life.’ It stirs emotions, captures hearts and enchants minds. It is also unpredictable. We cannot foresee what, where or when someone or something will strike us as beautiful. It may be sudden or shocking, or it may be slowly seductive. Romanticism is a way of seeing and feeling that makes the world more enchanted than the rational present. It is about emotional engagement and offers a portal to somewhere else, something beyond. In a world saturated with violence and death, it is imperative to find and hold fast to beauty and romanticism. My work celebrates beauty, intuition and imagination because they are uplifting and optimistic. Ultimately, it is up to the viewer how they react; how they choose or allow themselves to feel.