Zoe Porter BA (Hons) Fine Art
My practice is that of a painter. I create layers in my work that are captured ‘moments’ of time and the dynamics of the medium I’m using in my markings. Colours are critical and the finished work is intended to pull the viewer into the image by echoing a quality that they too carry.
Working in the pandemic, with a level of anxiety filtering into everyday life, and isolated from the usual dynamics of university life, I found that I had to dig deeper into memories of the life I’ve already lived to find a base-line on which I could create meaningful work. I was open to my emotions and the natural world around me in my childhood environment, I began to see things in a different way and my work reflected this new found freedom.
As the paintings begin to form through my hand and in some cases gravity via the many thin layers of oil paint, the ‘moments’ are captured as if trapped in gossamer. The secrets belong to me but others can find a narrative by interpretation.
Figures usually emerge from the paintings through the act of making and although I don’t see them as myself, I suppose they reflect some aspect of me or my life and I hope others feel some ownership or sense an echo of themselves whilst viewing. I didn’t set out to create ethereal work but I think I have and this must be a reaction to the harsh reality of life in a pandemic.
