Waves breaking on Canteras Beach Painting

Arabella Yapp is a Contemporary artist from South London and studied fine art at Goldsmiths and Middlesex Universities. Arabella invites the observer into her personal spaces. Identifying and interrogating the environments, places, and individuals within her internal world. She lives and works in a highly diverse, inner city setting within a mixed English/Jamaican family this inclusive life experience is a key theme in her work. Alongside painting she has worked for decades with marginalised communities and is committed to promoting inclusivity and equality. She uses painting as a visual gratitude diary focusing deeply on aspects of life that bring her joy. Swimming and water are a important in her work symbolising happiness. During a challenging childhood swimming was the only activity her combative parents both participated in, excelled at and shared with their children. She too is an ardent swimmer and shares this love of water with her own children who feature swimming and diving in many of her paintings. Water and the interplay of light within and upon water reminds us of our own deep alignment to our primordial origins and the possibilities of both self realisation and connection to others, our potential for growth and struggle between past experience and determination to not be shaped by our abuses and trauma. She paints with acrylics employing vibrant jewel- like colours, focussing on creating impact and bright light by juxtaposing saturated contrasting colours, to make them “sing” and vibrate against each other. This connection between the abstract qualities of dancing, shimmering light and the iridescence of water are now becoming a focus in their own right in her most recent abstract work incorporating metallic leaf.