Anna-May Clark’s work explores death, humour and her own way of coping with the death of her late grandad. Ghosts are at the forefront of Clark’s work after a spark of inspiration came months of artist’s block caused by the death of her much-loved grandad, Moan. A simple charcoal ghostie got her creating again. Clark wanted to embody her grandad within her work, using his sense of humour and love of art to cope with the early loss but also to honour him and his playful personality. The ‘ghostie series’ takes a twist on classic art, something she and her grandad shared an appreciation for and loved discussing together for hours on end. The twist comes from not only being the replacement of all living beings with her ghostie figures, but also swapping the classic paint for charcoal. The charcoal gives a sense of presence and flow within the work, helping to bring the ghost to life, or better still, death. Coping with death is often seen as something that leads to only sadness and despair however Clark flips this idea and uses humour and art as a way of coping. The artist wants the viewer to not only recognise death as simply being a part of life and something that none of us can avoid, but also understand that it is okay to laugh and be happy with the memory of the dead and not always wallow about our loved ones. Art, especially classic art, is often perceived as serious. Clark wants to show that art can be beautiful but still make you smile, even laugh. She wants people to not take the world too seriously because life is short and everyone deserves to smile.