BFAP Magazine 2023 - Flipbook - Page 12
How do you find your inspiration?
Dealing with personal experiences,
researching the elements of the mind
and body brought me to research
Analytical Psychology and Existential
Theories. Theories of Death by
Becker and different ways how
humans perceive loss has helped me
understand my own ways of coping.
Writings by Adorno and Kierkegaard
have made me think about the
connection of how art is giving a
voice to the suffering of nature. The
dualities in my work and the shift in
my practice becoming more spiritual
and sacred in terms of thinking about
my lost loved ones, and my research
has brought me to a book called A
New Biology of Religion by Michael
Steinberg that has given me new
ways to work on the relationship
between the body and mind.
Who are your biggest artistic
influences?
From when I was younger I always
loved Guiseppe Archimboldo,
Caravaggio, Joan Míro, Max Ernst,
Edvard Munch. In the past few years,
works by Francis Bacon, Hilma
at Klint, Amrita Sher-Gil, Ithell
Colqhoun, Erna Rosenstein, Otto Dix
have had a big impact on how I make
work.
How has your style changed over
time?
Looking back on my earlier paintings,
my colour palette has become a lot
brighter and softer in the past two
years. By allowing myself to focus
on my inner world, I became more
confident in depicting it, without
overriding it with the visual impact
of sound. The scale of the work has
changed too, as I realised how the
physicality of moving my body in
sync with the paint on a larger surface
means I can tell a more accurate
picture of my inner experience.
Previous page
Reverence
2023
Acrylic, oil and
pastels on canvas
115 x 115 cm
Opposite page
above
the 35th of May I
2023
Ink, acrylic, oil and
pastels on canvas
62 x 82 cm
What’s the concept behind, the 35th
of May I and II?
My favourite book my father used
to read to me was the 35th of May,
Conrad’s ride to the South Seas by
Eric Kästner. After he passed away,
I went to Crete to remember him
as it was his favourite place. I read
this book again, but for the first time
alone. Upon reading it, it had made
me connect to my childhood self and
memories of my father reading about
this magical ‘other world’ I always
wished to visit. So the pieces are a
reflection of my time in Crete trying
to connect with the memories of my
father and coming to terms with his
energy transforming into a different
form.
Opposite page
below
the 35th May II
2023
Ink, acrylic, oil and
pastels on canvas
62 x 82 cm
How do you see your work evolving
in the future?
I recently realised that changing my
surface material from cotton canvas
to found textured or silky fabric
materials opened up new possibilities
with how I interact with the material
in order to achieve transparent layers.
Turning point
2023
Ink on polyester
25 x 30 cm
BFAP
12
2023