I was born in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1987. The following year my family moved to Cape Town in South Africa where we lived for four years until 1991, when it was discovered that I had a terminal condition known as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. This was diagnosed in Klerksdorp which is a small town near Johannesburg. It is a devastating genetic muscle wasting disease which is caused by a missing protein, causing all my muscles to degenerate throughout my life, eventually leading to paralysis and early death, for which there is no cure.

We came to live in England in June 2000, where I underwent major spinal surgery in the August of that year. I began studying art and design and discovered a love for the arts, especially surrealism and fine art. In my GCSE year, I was critically ill and spent three weeks in intensive care, causing my condition to deteriorate to the extent that I could no longer draw, making pursuit of art and graphic design very difficult.

I went on to study a BA Honours degree in Photography at Portsmouth University. Unfortunately, my studies have been disrupted on a couple of occassions due to serious illness linked with my condition. I am now in my fifth year and completing my final year of study and I hope to graduate in the summer of 2014. After which I look forward to continuing my pursuit of a career as a professional photographer.

I annually participate in a lobby seeking additional funding to further the research in finding a cure for the current incurable disease of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). It entails handing in petitions to the British Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street and to the Ministry of Health, requesting additional funds for this medical research and lobby support from our Members of Parliament at Westminster.

I believe that disability does not mean inability. I aim to be a figurehead for what can be achieved and aim to continue using my work as a catalyst for increasing support in the research to find a cure for Duchenne.

When I started the creative arts, I was inspired by the Surrealist Still Life work of Dali and Magritte, which led me to draw images in this style.

When I began photographing still Life was the first topic that interested me, as it was the topic that I was most drawn to out of all the themes I had researched because it was the most practical and accessible theme. Within the topic of still life there are an infinite number of objects, patterns and textures you can photograph and utilize.

I have explored still life for the past five or six years, mainly focusing on themes of vanity and decay, relating to my thoughts and inner most feelings concerning my condition. I have operated in the realms of Surrealism, Vanitas and Abstraction and most recently have moved into portraiture whilst still carrying those same themes of vanity and decay.

I look forward to taking my still life and portraiture skills into a commercial environment in the near future.