The idea for The Itch came from a small illustration I made of a red target on a pink background with the words RIGHT HERE in the middle of it, as if it was the exact position of an irresistible spot on the skin. I decided I wanted to extend the concept, illustrating the ‘journey’ to get THERE, and a book seemed like the perfect format to do this.
In my work, words are almost always the starting point. I write down thoughts, slogans and pieces of conversation. I like to play with these fragments of text in an associative way and add something to them that emphasises, changes or confuses their meaning. This extra element could be a drawing or simply the way the words and letters operate formally within a specific space. When text becomes an image or part of an image in this way, my eye is immediately drawn to it, my desire to read and make sense of it is like an urgent itch I need to scratch.
