After my diagnosis in 2019, I created Cats of Tottenham (CoT), a lo-fi comedic puppet animation series following four women who decide to turn into cats to fight the patriarchy and change the world, all while working minimum-wage jobs in a Tottenham supermarket. The characters are fragmented versions of myself that have not yet been fully integrated, and the series has become a way of exploring and bringing them together. This body of work has allowed me to return to making art after a long recovery and has helped me build a steady trajectory as a video artist.
Cats of Tottenham embraces a DIY way of working that comes directly from the conditions it was made in. Beginning in small Tottenham flats with a second-hand video camera, the project has grown through whatever tools were available, including iPhones, GoPros, iMovie, and Apple Motion. Using green screen editing, handmade dolls, found materials, and backgrounds drawn from places around Tottenham, I build surreal worlds that explore low-paid work, housing, and everyday survival through humour and absurdity. The series sits somewhere between sitcom, performance, video art, and social commentary, drawing inspiration from 90s and 2000s television such as Friends and The Simpsons, alongside the strange worlds of Twin Peaks, Eraserhead, and South Park. Working closely with writer Will Stuart and a wider network of collaborators, I use exaggerated characters and surreal storylines to create work that is both playful and critical.