Charlotte Booth
BA (Hons) Fine Art and Art History
Dreamcatcher
Influenced by the depiction of dreams and memories in film, Charlotte Booth’s practice uses a multidisciplinary approach of oil painting and film to harmonise themes of nostalgia and reverie. This evokes a sense of comfort and reflection across a collective space. Curious about the intersection of film and art, she takes inspiration from the psychedelic qualities of dreams in film. Her work combines childhood home videos with a natural soundscape, allowing the viewer a moment of serenity as they are immersed in the ambience of drifting through a dream.
Alongside her short film, the artist exhibits a series of nine oil paintings generated from stills. Using stippled brush marks and soft-hued colours, she is inspired by the surrealism of Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli, as well as the dreamlike qualities of artworks by Kiki Smith and Sofia Arnold. The artist aims to capture the sensation of closed-eye hallucinations we might experience after looking into the light, as well as emulating the way nostalgia manifests itself in dreams.
As an artist and art historian, Charlotte’s academic research into the capabilities of the dreaming mind in nineteenth century artworks is drawn upon to inform her practice. Through the analysis of historical dream depictions, she has gained a deeper understanding of the visual motifs that underpin dream artworks. Despite the unique and personal nature of dreams, the artist curates a collaborative space for pause and escapism, encouraging a dialogue between the viewer and the artwork that stimulates introspection and contemplation.
