The duality of the internal versus external is vital to my practice as I construct a narrative through my body of work that explores my relationship with the world.
As explained more in depth previously, my body of wildlife paintings explores a personal narrative of my experience with nature in the UK. This side of my practice proposes a spiritual dilemma as the work stands between expressing the sublime quality of nature and the melancholia brought on by modern contexts.
I seek an answer to this dilemma through the other side of my practice that delves into the internal. Inspired by my studies of the internal body, I blend science and surrealism to represent innards in a mesmerising light. With oil paints I highlight the beauty of the internal body, inspiring reflection on one's personal relationship with their physical state. Currently the only publicly exhibited example of this side of my practice is ‘INTROSPECTION’. Whilst this is a smaller side to my work I still see it as very important to my art practice and my cycle between this surreal side and my wildlife art is a major part of my creative flow. I have often employed this style in my art collective’s live art and music gigs were this surrealist, free flowing approach to painting fits perfectly.
A little about why I paint what I paint…
I use my painting practice to capture and depict the natural world that I feel is overlooked- often finding visual interest in scenes that may not be traditionally beautiful. I draw upon inspirations from the romanticist and impressionist landscape painters, incorporating darker visual qualities that come from my interests in the gothic alongside the grim aesthetics synonymous with the UK.
I have long been drawn to the visual appeal of innards. This abject interest stemmed from personal struggles with an eating disorder and queer identity. I made a lot of art that used ‘gorey’ imagery that origionaly worked to express a discomfort in the body, but this painting style matured alongside me. I turned my interest in innards into a compliment to my wildlife art, developing a duality in my work between the internal versus the external. Animal carcases often feature in my work now as the untold narrative left in their wake fascinates me. This subject matter also helps to elicit some reflection on our own state as animals and relationship with our surroundings.
I am very drawn to moments that may feel slightly grim or even unremarkable, as what I am trying to represent with my work is a day-to-day, mundane appreciation for the world.
I want my landscapes to inspire people to reflect on their own relationship with nature. Humanity's influence on the environment is something I cannot ignore when seeking out moments to paint. I express a sense of melancholia in the visuals of my work, exploring how my adoration of nature conflicts with the disturbances of the modern age.
Having grown up in London and being a gen z I find parks hold a personal closeness to me as they became a third space for recreation and delinquency for me and my peers as teenagers seeking out social gathering. I see some of my generation increasingly reconnecting with nature as extremes in lifestyle have pushed us to change our outlook on the world. I aim to reflect these developing attitudes in my art, to speak to the unique position we have with the wild in the contemporary age.