I grew up in my mother’s antique shop surrounded by ceramics of all kinds. I’ve always been drawn to porcelain figurines; I love the way they are so expressive and amusing. As a child I enjoyed modelling figurines in plasticine, and once I discovered clay at school, I was hooked! I then went on to study ceramics at art school.

My use of vintage figurines has come from my work as a specialist ceramics conservator. When I’m not making my art I often spend my days repairing and conserving porcelain. My artwork subverts this conservation approach. And although I know how to make ceramic figurines I choose to use vintage figurines because I think they have an engaging quality that comes from the way they were made. They were mass-produced and, as a result, their faces often have disarmingly quizzical expression, which I love. I also like to think that I am rescuing them from being discarded as I buy them from charity shops.

I use my art as a springboard to talk about political issues that I think are important.

I can’t be sure how different people will react to my work. Everyone brings their own experiences to bear when they see it. So I guess there will be times when my work is misunderstood. That’s okay with me. As long as I get people thinking about particular issues I’m happy.

I have my own political views but in my work I mostly aim to provoke discussion and get people thinking. There are many different views about particular issues, nothing is black and white, but a multitude shades of grey. As long as people are engaged with an issue then I have achieved my aim.

People often laugh at my work, and then I can see them beginning to think about what it is I’m trying to say and sometimes they become more thoughtful. Humour is a gentle way to engage people in difficult subjects without being dogmatic. I find it is often a good way to start a conversation about a particular issue.

I’m not proposing any answers to the refugee crisis. Rather I am aiming to provoke dialogue and get people to think about the complexities of the on-going crisis.

To Europeans I might be seen as an outsider, but we are all citizens of the same world. There are refugee crisis happening all over the world, not just in Europe. There are continuing mass movements of people occurring in many parts of the world – Africa, South East Asia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and South America. It’s a worldwide issue.

Australia is dealing with the issue of mass movement of refugees too. We have a complex political approach to the crisis. Some government policies are extremely harsh and there is a lack of engagement in finding a regional solution to the issue. We have instead become very insular and have a focus on protecting our borders without attempting to work with our regional neighbours and the United Nations to find a meaningful solution.

A few years ago I made a work titled The Four Horsemen of the 21st Apocalypse. This work covers the four major issues I think are facing humanity in the 21st century: peak oil, water scarcity, over population and food insecurity. Climate change is at the very heart of all these issues.

There is a lot to be deeply concerned about in the world today, but also a lot to be hopeful for. There are so many passionate people working to solve the massive problems we face today. I take great comfort in this, and continue to hope for the best for humanity’s future.

I’m increasingly interested in the invisible light spectrum – infrared and ultraviolet – and am beginning to make work that taps into this. I have also been experimenting with Microsoft Hololens augmented reality technology in a new work called #BloodDiamond. And I’d love to work with a ceramics factory such as Meissen to create some new pieces based on their original figurines and models, as their original 18th century figurines were also highly political and filled with social commentary.