About Annabel.

Artist Statement:

To paint a portrait is to attempt to materialise the indescribable essence of being human - to express the subjective qualities of character that cannot be captured through language or photography. Through the interplay of realism and abstraction my oil portraits defend the belief that accurately representing a person requires more than recording their physical likeness.

The relationship between artwork and viewer is the driving force of my practice. Drawing inspiration from artists such as Jenny Saville, I seek to magnify, dignify and expose the unglamourous moments of life. By depicting the raw, often uncomfortable aspects of life on a large scale, I demand the viewer confront the tension between beauty and vulnerability in the human condition. My work often develops in series, each exploring a specific facet of human experience. Recently it has centred on female friendship, where I have examined it’s complexity and emotional depth through interview-led painting.

I describe my practice as ‘viewer-centred’ – not that I pursue pleasing the audience, but that I primarily aspire to provoke physical and conceptual engagement with my work. My paintings ask viewers to question whether they see themselves within the work. By in-habiting the in-between spaces where identification with a work is uncomfortable or ambiguous, I believe that a portrait can act as the catalyst for reflection - prompting a shift in the viewers perception of self and the world. This is the core pursuit of my practice.