The work entitled ‘Alphabet’ employed a series of collaged characters, which were assembled from a collection of separately created ‘parts’ made of card and consisting of limbs, faces and features. By playing with these parts it was possible to find and create new images or characters, which were like puppets. The process of play was crucial to the final images as many permutations and combinations were tried until satisfying images emerged and the pieces were fixed together permanently.

Movement was implied in these apparently animated characters, yet they were frozen in time. In the process of invention it became clear that one could construct an identity with very few visual features, and that the characteristics whereby one identifies gender can be quite surprising. This approach was used to create ‘Hellzapoppin’, ‘Angels and Demons’ and ‘Parade’.