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Collateral Damage

Oil on Canvas

100 x 169cm

This painting began with a question that wouldn't leave me alone. What happens when you're surrounded by other people's expectations, conflicts and emotions, only to realise you've become the collateral damage in stories that were never really yours? I wanted to explore that uncomfortable place where we absorb the consequences of relationships we didn't create. Sometimes recognising that is the first step towards putting those burdens down.

Finally

Oil on Canvas

61 x 122cm
 
I've spent a lot of time exploring the complexity of human relationships, but Finally came from a much more hopeful place.

I wanted to paint the feeling of belonging; the quiet happiness that comes from finding a group where individuality isn't something to hide but something that's celebrated. Every figure is different. Some stand confidently, some simply seem content to be part of the whole. Together they celebrate one of the best parts of being human: our ability to find connection without losing ourselves.

Stuck

Oil on Canvas

61 x 91cm

I've often wondered why we work so hard to belong.
We spend years learning how to fit in, adapting ourselves to the expectations of family, friends, workplaces and society. Yet the harder we try to become part of the crowd, the easier it can be to lose sight of ourselves.
I chose a softer, vintage palette to gently draw viewers in, while the heavy texture beneath reminds us that the lives we present to the world are rarely as smooth as they appear.

This is No Fun

Oil on Canvas

62 x 92cm

People often ask me to paint more works from my Social Exchange series because the questions behind them never seem to go away.

Why do some people feel isolated even when surrounded by others? Why do some naturally lead while others follow? Does belonging always make us happier, or can it sometimes ask us to become less of ourselves?

I don't pretend to have the answers. This painting simply became another way of exploring those questions.

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