Aoife Elston BA (Hons) Fine Art and Art History
Often times, when found at the intersection of joy, and suffering, we struggle to convey how this can feel. It is the emotion without a face, a formless, fluid confusion.
Through my work, I attempt to depict this internal battle by use of paint. Focusing on everyday scenes of my home life, I like to convey the small joys that are particularly the most appreciated when in a distressed state, ie, the realisation of the tiny pleasures that make the worst situations, less worse, these are the comfortable familiar.
In recent times, I have found myself coming home in the form of the language of my Irish background; in curling up in the combination of letters that present themselves as something to me not so fluent but recognisable, I find myself once more in the warmth of the familiar. As a result, I have begun to title my paintings in Irish as a way in which to tap into this personal joy, and endeavour for the personal.
I firmly believe in the importance of sharing the personal experience of the everyday as a means of encouraging others to come forward with their own stories, as well as exploring personal identity. In the future, I hope to work with mental health charities to use art and art therapy to help express the intimate and inspire the importance of being able to be open and unshamed about mental illness.
