Phoebe completed their MA (2016) at the Centre for Research Architecture, Goldsmiths and their BA (2013) in Fine Art at Leeds and Lisbon Universities. They are starting their PhD research ‘a queer enquiry into embodied encounters of contemporary NHS mental health care’ in February 2022 and are a recipient of the Gertrude Aston Bowater Bursary PhD Award.

Phoebe’s practice-based research explores the clinical encounter for inpatients in locked NHS mental-health services. Seeking alternatives to standardised approaches in mental-health care, which rely on binary modalities such as sick/healthy, normal/pathological, their approach builds upon expanded notions of ‘queer’ that challenge established categories of identity and disturb the order of things (Ahmed, 2016). The concept of ‘pathoplasty’ (Oury, 2007), in understanding how disorders are constructed in correlation with the social and material environment, provides a framework for the research. Their artistic practice acts as a tool for both investigation and dissemination in de-stabilising ‘othering’ categories, communicated through mental-health unit environments.

Alongside their practice, Phoebe leads research at Hospital Rooms, a charity who facilitate workshops and installations with critically acclaimed artists in NHS mental health units. Through this they curated an exhibition and public programme at South London Gallery.