Saatchi New Sensations: A First Hand Account

Leaving behind the discipline of art college and attempting to 'make it' as an artist can become an exercise in trying to get the audience to like and admire you instead of an exercise in practising and creating art. You believe you're not good enough, but you know your workand want to keep making it, and so desperately apply for as much as you can. Luckily, naivety, lack of self-belief and uncertainty can sometimes benefit you more than you think. So it was for me, finding myself shortlisted for Saatchi's New Sensations.

The show itself was much more relaxed than I thought it would be. There were plenty of collectors, gallerists and artists (although I never did see Saatchi himself), but it felt more receptive than awkward, which ultimately made the approach to me and my work much more accessible. The space couldn’t have exhibited any more art, to tell you the truth, so the work of 20 selected artists was faultless, plus it was interesting to see how the curator placed the work.

I find it very difficult, at such an early stage in an 'art career', to feel anything more than anticipation and vagueness with a show such as New Sensations, and relief that perhaps I'm making the right decisions. With the amount of applications to the exhibition itself, it's also rewarding to place yourself with the other 19 exhibiting artists and see how your work fares beside. I’m not sure where this opportunity will take me, but it’s a pretty good start.