Degree Show Paintings
This project is concerned with the idea of childhood fragility. Exploration of the delicate line between child’s play and fear sparked an interest in children’s stories and fairy tale, themes which influenced a series of oil paintings focusing on narrative and the uncanny nature of a child alone in the woods. The viewer may question why the child is there, whether she is at play or something more sinister is happening. I used photography as a medium through which to create the scenarios in the paintings, arranging the main feature, a tartan blanket in a way which complemented the natural surroundings of the figure. The blanket almost resembles a pupa, the protective layer around the vulnerable child within it. Romanticism influences the paintings, and their large scale invites the viewer to imagine themselves in the landscape, having stumbled upon this mysterious, solitary figure. The pale, translucent colour scheme of the children’s faces and the misty woodland give the paintings an ethereal sense which is in keeping with the idea of a fragile childhood, something which can be stolen away in an instant by life experience.