Maisy Penford - BA (Hons) Fine Art and Art History
Maisy Penford is an artist and art historian based in Manchester. Her practice encompasses collage, three-dimensional pieces and painting as tools to explore what it means to perform and exist within a patriarchal society. For Penford, the patriarchy is a pervasive force impacting everyone. Her paintings, often a blend of acrylics and oils, portrays situations she has witnessed and experienced herself or stories from friends, which bring people together as they share their experiences. These narratives foster a collective reflection on the societal constructs shaping our identities and behaviours, aspiring to highlight the multifaceted and complex nature of navigating identities within a patriarchal system.
Central to her current work is the question: "What does it mean to exist and perform within a patriarchal society?" Where she explores the different ways the patriarchy influences our behaviours towards each other and ourselves. Her pieces become almost conceptual and weave a narrative that invites viewers to contemplate these themes as part of a larger body of work, which Penford has titled On The Brink, Influenced by Alfred Elmore’s 1965 painting under the same title. Each piece within the series is created with the intent to invite viewers to reflect the societal constructs that shape our identities and behaviours, whether “positive or negative”.
