He tina ki runga, he tāmore ki raro
In order to flourish above, one must be firmly rooted below
Body Language, July 2022, series of paintings, oil on ( unstretched) Belgian linen
These works are an exploration of how the body can be used to evoke intellectual and emotional engagement through a painterly language.
I attempt to redefine the traditional subjects of figurative painting against a psychosocial discourse of identity and the interior mind of my female experience.
As a woman painter representing the female form, I seek to carve out a space to reflect on my own female agency. These works are created within a feminist framework in attempt to honour, empower and make space for the feminine form.
In view of diversifying my figurative work, I am interested in Michelangelo’s sixteenth century drawings as a way to reconsider composition and space. I find the rawness of these unfinished works evoke a tenderness that I would like to use as template for resolved works.
Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, is a British painter that interests me. Her work prompts me to rethink my gestural hand, for the purpose of evoking a powerful sensory experience through the materiality of paint.
Body Language II
1090mm x 790mm
Oil on Belgian linen
Body Language I
1080mm x 900mm
Oil on Belgian Linen
Body Language III
1190mm x 1080mm
Oil on Belgian linen
Body Language IV
1080mm x 800mm
Oil on Belgian linen