artist statement:

 

Through the use of dreamlike symbolism tied with mediums representing the body's physicality, my artwork explores the psychological phenomena of dissociation and how we carry past experiences with us in the body. Dissociation is a mental process in which an individual becomes disconnected from their thoughts, feelings, memories or sense of identity, and it usually exists as a coping mechanism for trauma.

 

Guided by an influence of tattoo culture, I use mediums which mimic tattooed skin such as Japanese silk painting, and even tattoos themselves. Through this, I position the idea of design on skin as a metaphor for the experiences we take with us through life. Specifically, the work focuses on how trauma can manifest as the surreal phenomenon of dissociation. My work employs borderline surreal imagery painted onto a void landscape of serene blue-lilac hues to build the feeling that reality is just out of reach.

 

In my work the viewer may feel comforted by the gentle colour palette, only to realise something unsettling lurks beneath the surface. Typically I create bodies of work which build a disjointed narrative that dances around a traumatic memory. Each artwork acts as a piece of the puzzle that forbode an uncanny revelation, that although alluded to is never quite revealed.

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