Arriving in Hong Kong in 1997, I cut my teeth working as a designer in an international creative agency, whilst exploring unfamiliar territory and cultures. In 2001, deeply inspired by my environment, the people and their ‘can do’ spirit; I founded SALON DE PIGEON, an atelier offering creative solutions for a wide range of corporate & private clients, including Apple, Absolut, Red Bull, RBS, Reebok, and W Hotel.
Exploring the intersection of music, art, & people, I co-created ROBOT - a legendary series of themed immersive DJ events which transformed venues across the city. ROBOT MAGAZINE soon followed which served as a printed playground for ideas and a springboard for collaborative photography and video projects.
Making Hong Kong my permanent home, I instigated HIGH & DRY, a three-month long multi-media arts exhibition to raise awareness of ‘urban renewal’ plans which sought to replace the city’s oldest outdoor wet market. This initiative morphed into a wider campaign to save the market from destruction.
In 2007 I co-founded Clockenflap Music & Arts Festival to provide a platform for local and international artists. The festival experienced meteoritic growth attracting 70,000 attendees over the three-day weekend in 2018. Showcasing stellar line-ups, avant-garde arts experiences, high production value, and an impeccable safety record – Clockenflap has become a global brand.
As Artistic Director I view the outdoor festival format as a large-scale sideshow which offers, a respite from the day to day, awe and wonder. My curatorial approach is grounded in sociological perspectives, with a mind for authenticity, relevance and quality - delivering engaging and immersive arts programs, transforming the nature of the audience from spectator to explorer.
Returning to the UK, after 23 years in Asia, I now call Bath my home and continue to successfully manage a diverse international team of arts practitioners, producers, fabricators and installation teams, for Hong Kong and UK based projects. Working with artists and corporate sponsors, I ensure collaborative and bespoke projects meet both parties’ expectations and standards of execution. I also direct and produce teams of photographers and film crews to deliver event highlights.
Re-igniting my personal arts practise, grounded in observational figurative work and abstraction, my current series of work explores the tension that exists between cognition and intuition.
Esthetika, launched in 2022 with my wife Muriel, is the culmination of our shared knowledge, expertise and skillset, which seeks to unify mind, body and spirit through arts practises and community engagement.
Education
The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Masters of Social Sciences in Media, Culture and Creative Cities, Distinction, 2015
Solent University, Southampton UK, Bachelor of Arts in Design & Illustration, 1996
The University of Hong Kong/The Clore Leadership Programme, Hong Kong, Fellow of the Advanced Cultural Leadership Program, 2016
School of the Art Institute of Chicago, USA, Course in Charting the Avant Guarde: From Romanticism to Utopic Abstraction, 2022
Permaculture Association, United Kingdom, Foundation in Permaculture, 2022
Mind Hong Kong, Mental Health First Aid Training Course (MHFA), 2019
Awards
Perspective Magazine’s 40 under 40 award for Design Activism.
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