I acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia. I pay my respect to the Gadigal of the Eora Nation on whose land I live, and to the past, present and emerging Elders.

After training in Visual Communications at the Sydney College of the Arts, I worked as a graphic designer, teacher and health care coordinator. Now I write short stories and stitch paper.

In 2009, in the year leading up to my 50th birthday, I found myself asking the usual big questions. What is Humanity? What does it mean 'to be human'?

I started a paper sculpture on the medical professions and the idea of sacredness in a secular society. This first artwork – 'Sacred Hands' – led to a second project – 'Life Codes: Pink and Blue' – examining funeral directors and Death & Dying.

I saw then the potential to develop a series of works investigating the secular professions that touch our lives at key moments between birth and death.

Along the way, I will also consider themes of identity, and memories about Mauritius, where I grew up.

Over the years, my list of acknowledgements has started to look like the Academy Awards. It became clear I would not see through my long-term, painstaking projects if it wasn't for the support of many.

Bernard