The Art

Influenced by the real-life impact

Misfortune | Gagged | Transparency

All three pieces were created by an aspiring barrister caught by the career-ending ban on extensions to complete vocational training. Misfortune, Gagged, and Transparency are inspired by the first-hand experience of being subject to the ban, the search for understanding, and the discoveries made along the way.

No reuse without permission.

A handmade clay crystal ball blind-embossed with the uppercase text "this period cannot be extended under any circumstances". The ball is painted off-white and coated in clear varnish with very fine iridescent glitter. The ball is attached to a round-collared base painted glossy black. The photograph is taken outdoors in direct sunlight against the backdrop of a brick wall. The crystal ball is sat on a white surface casting a shadow behind it.
A handmade clay crystal ball blind-embossed with the uppercase text "this period cannot be extended under any circumstances". The ball is painted off-white and coated in clear varnish with very fine iridescent glitter. The ball is attached to a round-collared base painted glossy black. The photograph is taken outdoors in direct sunlight against the backdrop of a brick wall. The crystal ball is sat on a white surface casting a shadow behind it.

Misfortune

2026
Clay, acrylic paint
11cm x 9.5cm x 9cm

A clay crystal ball sculpture displaying text from the secret ban on extensions to complete vocational Bar training. The uneven text on the surface of the sphere has been blind debossed by hand using vintage industrial steel stamps. The crystal ball is hand-sculpted and painted.

Debossed text from CSG FOI 007.

Visual Description

A hand-sculpted clay crystal ball made up of a sphere sitting on a round collared base. The sphere is roughly shaped, painted off-white, and finished in clear varnish with very fine iridescent glitter. The surface of the sphere is blind debossed with the uneven uppercase text “this period cannot be extended under any circumstances”. The font is similar to that used for telegraphs and typewriters. The ball sits on a short, squat base, painted black and gloss-varnished. The blind debossed text is difficult to read. The crystal ball suggests mysticism, skepticism and absurdity; its imperfect finish and form invoke a sense of amateurism and naivety.

A multi-layered paper-cutting in a graphic style depicting a wide open mouth. Bordered by a beige, square background, a dark pink, wide-open mouth frames rows of white teeth and a pale pink heart-shaped tongue. The back of the throat is grey, cut out with an unruly, wavy edge. Each layer beneath descends deeper into an increasingly dark, chaotic, and tight void, until reaching a black hole. The photograph is taken outdoors in direct sunlight against the backdrop of a brick wall. The piece is sat on a lilac slatted table casting a shadow behind it.

Gagged

2025
Cardstock, recycled cardboard
30.5cm x 30.5cm x 4.5cm

A three-dimensional paper-cutting made up of nine individual layers using blunt scissors. Based on the emotional fall-out, cognitive dissonance, and barriers of being subject to and searching for a seemingly non-existent ban.

Visual Description

A multi-layered paper-cutting in a graphic style. The use of blunt scissors has left cut edges unpredictably smooth, bent, compressed, jagged, and torn. Bordered by a beige, square background, a dark pink, wide-open mouth frames rows of white teeth and a pale pink heart-shaped tongue. The back of the throat is grey, cut out with an unruly, wavy edge. Each layer beneath descends deeper into an increasingly dark, chaotic, and tight void, until reaching a black hole. The void invokes a sense of despair, suffocation, frustration, and silence.

A large sheet of parchment paper which has been blind debossed with uppercase text in a font similar used by typewriters. The translucency and lack of ink make the debossed text visible but illegible except at specific angles, under certain light, and on close inspection. The physical process of hand-debossing the fragile paper has created light crumpling and depressed areas, in addition to the texture created by each individual character.
A large sheet of parchment paper which has been blind debossed with uppercase text in a font similar used by typewriters. The translucency and lack of ink make the debossed text visible but illegible except at specific angles, under certain light, and on close inspection. The photograph and lighting are angled enabling some words to be deciphered. The physical process of hand-debossing the fragile paper has created light crumpling and depressed areas, in addition to the texture created by each individual character. The paper is pierced and lifted in places where debossing has gone through it.
A close-up photograph of a large sheet of parchment paper which has been blind debossed with uppercase text in a font similar used by typewriters. The translucency and lack of ink make the debossed text visible but illegible except at specific angles, under certain light, and on close inspection. The photograph and lighting are angled enabling the words to be deciphered. The physical process of hand-debossing the fragile paper has created light crumpling and depressed areas, in addition to the texture created by each individual character.
A close-up photograph of a large sheet of parchment paper which has been blind debossed with uppercase text in a font similar used by typewriters. The translucency and lack of ink make the debossed text visible but illegible except at specific angles, under certain light, and on close inspection. The photograph and lighting are angled enabling the words to be deciphered. The words 'TIME', 'MAXIMUM' and 'STALE' stand out.

Transparency

2026
Parchment paper
75cm x 38cm

From a distance, what appears to be a blank sheet. A copy of an email sent by the Bar Standards Board to AETOs, incorporating an absolute ban on extensions to the five-year completion limit for vocational Bar training. Each character has been painstakingly blind debossed by hand using a hammer and vintage industrial steel stamps.*

Debossed text from CSG FOI 007.

*Due to the limitations of the stamps, punctuation has been edited, substituted, and/or removed.

Visual Description

A large sheet of parchment paper blind debossed with uppercase text in a font similar to that of telegraphs and typewriters. The translucency and fragility of the paper, along with the blind debossing, make the text visible but impossible to decipher except at specific angles, under certain light, and on close inspection. The physical process of hand-debossing the fragile paper has created light crumpling and depressed areas, in addition to the texture created by each individual character. The illegibility, cumbersome size, and fragility invoke a sense of exhaustion, obfuscation, secrecy, and bureaucracy.