More Than One

Acrylics on watercolour paper (2022)

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20.5 cm x 14.5 cm

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£125

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"I use organic themes to explore what's hidden, misunderstood or repressed. The brittle textures and monumental figures of trees reflect the fragility of life. My recent work is driven by explorations of wild territories – as remembered or imagined. I want to convey my fascination with haunting shapes I come across on my walks. Dead trees bubbling with life. Dry and broken branches, anthropomorphic in their forms, appear in motion, dancing, ready to depart. I’m focusing on trees, and beliefs about their powers, wisdom and strength reflected in how we see the world. These stories are ingrained in our instincts.    

 

My pallet consists mainly of warm shades of reds, oranges and pinks – reminders of make-up colours, like blush or lipstick. It is my conscious decision to restrict my pallet to ‘womanly’ colours. A restriction that turned out to be very freeing. The Colour red is loaded with symbolism and meaning. We live in a constant state of emergency – climate change, pandemics, and wars. 

 

While painting pictures inspired by beautiful nature, feeling the stink of the wastewater pumped into the oceans. Nature is beautiful, we love this landscape but something is very wrong. "

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Sylwia Narbutt

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