"Love Me like You Love Yourself" Painting

Tal Booker, born in the early 90s, having grown up in North London is an inspiring emerging artist to watch. He is completely self-taught, inspired by artists such as Tracy Emin and José Rodolfo Loaiza Ontiveros, which is evident in his style of artwork. Artists’ statement: ‘Having suffered with depression since my early teens, I think my view of life and love has always been slightly warped. In recent times, I’ve sought professional help for various mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse and love addiction. The love addiction inspires a lot of my work. Growing up in the early 2000s, which was arguably an important time for children’s movies and cartoons, we were fed images of life which were far from reality. Fast forward to 2019 these ideals are fully engrained within my mind and have lead to me expecting far more of people and relationships that they’re often able to give. I really found my style and voice whilst in treatment, combining images and words to share my reality of love and lack of.