Born in London in 1967, Debra studied Politics and Economics at the University of Manchester, initially pursuing a career in advertising, before enrolling at Central St Martins School of Art (2002-2005) and creating Artbag.
Raised by an art teacher and an international handbag fittings agent for the luxury brands market, Debra herself was exposed to a unique outlook on art and fashion from a young age, which helped develop her intriguing style. As a student, she caught the eyes of the tutors with her handbag casting. The handbag rapidly became her canvas and the medium to express her unique style and aesthetics of intimacy.
Her ideas explore consumption and our relationship with the material objects of consumable fashion. These objects live with us and become the embodiment of our cherished memories.
From photos to sunglasses, keys to lipsticks, each object tells a personal story.
How did Artbag start?
It was whilst she was at art school that the idea for Artbags first materialised. Debra took a beautiful handbag from a top couture house and adapted it into a silicone mould for casting. Whilst the first bag was sculpted in heavy white plaster, her next bag, ‘Catch’, was cast in resin and featured a goldfish inside a tank of water, mounted on a plinth. Her first pieces were highly autobiographical, as, through these, Debra visualised how she was feeling about various areas of her life.
She has since lived and worked in New York, Europe and London, where she is now based. She regularly collaborates with her contemporaries and, in 2020, she opened her own dedicated Gallery to represent herself alongside a few trusted galleries across the world.
Spanning luxury and familiarity, the elements held in each bag combine nostalgia and style. The unique technique of resin encapsulation is very difficult to achieve and gives the items inside the casting a visually intensified presence, with their memory forever visible, suspended in time, never to be forgotten……

In 2022 Debra Launched her Artbags in Dubai with Art Korero with over 60 sculptures and wall art prints the launch was a huge success



