My name is Yousef Alloune, and I’m an artist shaped by both Algerian and British heritage. That mix of backgrounds has played a steady role in how I see the world and how I approach making work. Much of what I create comes from personal experiences, memories and the questions that sit with me over time. I focus on sculptural practices and tend to move between materials depending on what a piece asks for, but metal and wood have become the two mediums I return to most. I’m drawn to the weight, texture and history they carry, and I like how they respond differently to force, heat and time. I often think of Heidegger’s line, ‘Only if we are capable of dwelling, and here lies the reversal, only then can we build.’ It stays with me because each piece begins with that act of dwelling before it becomes something physical. Working with them lets me build forms that feel honest to the ideas I’m trying to explore, whether those ideas come from my cultural identity, the places I’ve lived, or the internal shifts that shape my day-to-day life.