Stanley Cross

BA (Hons) Illustration

Do you know what makes our voices? Ghosts! The ghosts make our voices, and they’re working in the factory.

Gruff, my nephew, aged 4.

My illustrative output is broadly documentary, exploring a wide range of media and experimental approaches.


At the core of my practice I draw from observation, memory and imagination, in order to shed light on the absurdities of everyday life, portraying the relationships between people, things and the spaces they occupy. The playful, fragmentary narratives which emerge are designed to convey my perceptions and the energy of situations, as I analyse the way we behave in the universe. I try to break down a moment to its greatest essence; using simple lines and minimal colour helps me to do this by bringing clarity to details in facial expressions and body language.

By being specific you can be universal” A R Gurney.

I work intuitively; naturally expressing from personal experiences, so my work often tends to be autobiographical, intimate and particular. By focusing on the emotions and behaviour of the people around me and myself, the drawings illustrate universal human phenomena.

I enjoy shifting intuitively between documentary, narrative and experimental forms without necessarily pre-determining a structure or outcome. This free-form experimental approach has become especially productive through a number of collaborations with fellow student George Goom, making and exhibiting large-scale paintings, giving live performances and creating digital animations.


Ydych chi’n gwybod beth sy’n creu ein lleisiau? Ysbrydion! Mae’r ysbrydion yn creu ein lleisiau, ac maent yn gweithio yn y ffatri.”

Gruff, fy nai, 4 oed.

Mae fy allbwn darluniol yn ddogfennol yn gyffredinol, gan ymchwilio i ystod eang o gyfryngau a dulliau arbrofol. 


Wrth wraidd fy arfer rwy’n galw ar arsylwi, atgof a dychymyg, er mwyn taflu goleuni ar wiriondebau bywyd bob dydd, gan bortreadu’r perthnasoedd rhwng pobl, pethau a’r gofodau y maent yn eu meddiannu. Dylunnir y naratifau darniog chwareus a ddaw i’r amlwg i gyfleu fy nghanfyddiadau ac egni sefyllfaoedd, wrth i mi ddadansoddi’r ffordd yr ydym yn ymddwyn yn y bydysawd. Rwy’n ceisio torri ennyd i lawr i’w hanfod manylaf; mae defnyddio llinellau syml a’r maint lleiaf o liw yn fy helpu i wneud hyn trwy ddod ag eglurder i fanylion mewn mynegiadau’r wyneb ac iaith y corff.

By being specific you can be universal” A R Gurney.

Rwy’n gweithio’n reddfol; gan fynegi’n naturiol o brofiadau personol, felly mae fy ngwaith yn aml yn tueddu bod yn hunangofiannol, yn bersonol ac yn benodol. Trwy ganolbwyntio ar emosiynau ac ymddygiad y bobl o fy nghwmpas a fi fy hun, mae’r darluniadau’n mynegi ffenomenau dynol cyffredinol.

Rwy’n mwynhau symud yn reddfol rhwng ffurfiau dogfen, naratif ac arbrofol heb o reidrwydd bennu strwythur neu ganlyniad ymlaen llaw. Mae’r dull arbrofol ffurf rydd yma wedi mynd yn arbennig o gynhyrchiol trwy nifer o weithiau ar y cyd gyda chyd-fyfyriwr George Goom, gan greu ac arddangos paentiadau graddfa fawr, rhoi perfformiadau byw a chreu animeiddiadau digidol.

Other Exhibitors:

Imogen Miles

Imogen Miles

My current project looks into the story of St Dwynwen, a Welsh princess who became a saint- the welsh patron St of Lovers. She is celebrated throughout wales on the 25th of January. I was interested in this story after hearing about St Dwynwens day and doing some...

Katie Andrews

Katie Andrews

Reconnecting and rebuilding our relationship with the natural world is as vital as ever. My illustration practice focuses on creating educational and decorative patterned homeware and giftware products which will inspire people to become more in sync and appreciative...

Monika Jutrzenka Trzebiatowska

Monika Jutrzenka Trzebiatowska

My project is a response to a brief inspired by the Apila’s First Printing Award 2022. The aim was to create a fully illustrated children’s book based on a story of my choice – ‘The Frog Princess’ by A. J. Gliński. I wanted to combine the Polish culture with my...

Ellen Richards

Ellen Richards

As ân artist, I am particularly interested in creating work which explores subjects which are tailored to a certain demographic. The topics are relevant and meaningful to a specific individual, whether it be something they have experienced in their past or are...

Polly Allburn

Polly Allburn

My illustration work has culminated in an experimental assortment of objects that communicate the interconnected relationship between parent and child. Breaking down the power dynamic and allowing for a collaborative experience where parents can empathise with their...

Thalia Dougourou

Thalia Dougourou

Using both visual and lexical storytelling, I explore African history and culture while investigating its absence in the learning of young black students. Growing up in the UK, I became aware that the black history being taught in schools did not go beyond slavery,...