My painting explores places of current significance in Africa, but in ways that also engaged with the notion of romantic places. I first became aware of Ceuta, the Spanish enclave on the Moroccan coast, when I heard of the mass invasions that were being staged by migrants who had gathered on the hills above the medieval town. The press was full of images of excited, young partially clad African men who had burst through the city's modern defenses. When I searched further I found all these images of an ancient city and idyllic medieval castles. The works are bold and messy - combining imagined landscapes and sea crossings, barbed wire, barricades, medieval fortresses and Mediterranean colours.
