Skip to content
————————————————————————
ABOUT MY WORK
————————————————————————
I talk a lot about my work being empowering but let me explain why.
—————
My work explores the influences of media, advertising, social media, culture and society on our identities and mental well-being. We’re bombarded with imagery and advertising every single day on social media, TV, news, magazines, newspapers, celebrities, billboards... basically everywhere. A 2021 study revealed that we see 6-10 thousand adverts PER DAY, many of which portray beautiful people with athletic bodies in high end fashion, living luxurious lifestyles. So when your subconscious brain sees these ads on that scale, it will inevitably lead to feelings of lack, inadequacy, failure and potentially, depression. Through my paintings, I challenge these pervasive narratives with the aim to liberate the viewer from feelings of unworhiness and failure. By distorting and reinterpreting images, I aim to shift the power dynamic, placing it firmly in the hands of the viewer.
—————
My work re-contextualises these images, repurposing and recycling them to empower the viewer. My blurry style censors the image to weaken its potency and demonstrates that beauty is a fading concept and does not lead to lasting happiness.
—————
The blurring of my images represents a faded, confused recollection of each ad, because the brain can’t possibly recall them all perfectly. By changing the context, rebelliously and defiantly weakening and confusing the power of these images, we are empowered to no longer feel a sense of lack or weakness but feel liberated to not be on the hamster wheel of conforming to ever changing beauty standards and expectations. We realise that these images are just adverts trying to entice us into purchasing a lifestyle, and that lifestyle only exists in that advert, it’s not reality. As a result, my works spread a message of self-love, self-worth and individuality in the face of societal comparisons, hopefully redefining the parameters of beauty, success and perfection.
—————
Historically, great art has documented and reflected the time it was created, acting as a mirror to society and culture. History books don't record the stories and the specific feelings of the time in the same way that art does, raw and honest, showing us the truth on an individual level. We can learn so much more from art that otherwise would be erased from history or be too political or uncensored to even be legal to publish at the time. I want my work to be one of the many voices speaking of this perfection obsessed world we now live in and the still unknown long term effects of beauty standards and expectations accelerated by social media and now AI.
