C What three words would you use to describe your work?
K Bold, powerful, energetic.
C 'Energetic' is a good place to start – how do you go around capturing that movement
K Capturing movement has always been a really kind of integral part in my process. I actually started out as a dancer. My family were all ballroom and Latin dancers, and my dad was also an artist. He focused a lot on figurative work, and he taught me from a very young age how to capture that movement. I'd go to dance competitions and sketch the dancers and watch them move around the floor. So I think it just was quite a natural thing in my work to pull that history in.
C And sport, more generally, is also a key theme in your work. Could you tell us about that?
K Growing up, I did a lot of sports. I did gymnastics, karate, swimming, every type of sport. It's something I kind of understand. The discipline you need in sport, it’s even kind of the same discipline you need to be in the art world. So it naturally worked its way into my work.
C Tell us about the role of the female body in your work.
K I've always been obsessed with Olympic memorabilia. Absolutely obsessed with it. I always look at the old posters from the very beginning, but it always heroed the male figures. I always saw these strong male figures, but I thought: where are the females?
So that's one part. And the other side is that I came from fashion illustration, and back when I was doing that, the figures were all very, very similar. It was one body form. So when I got going with my work I’d go back to dance schools and actually go into the gym and watch people work out. Not creepy at all, by the way. But I really loved the idea of working directly with movement, which kind of turned into the shape work.