Relinquishing Painting

b. 1992, Glasgow, Scotland, UK. Currently living and working in Dundee, Scotland, UK. . My work engages with theories of gender and identity, focusing upon capturing the facial expressions and body language of my subject. I predominantly use self-portraiture as a means of exploring this. The autobiographical element in representing my own identity of sitting between the binary of gender, opens a discussion towards the very boundaries of gender itself. In this sense, the particular can become the universal. This encompasses the representation of gender anxiety and presentation, the psychological disturbance and pressure to conform, alienation and the sense of performance as well. My perspective holds homage to writers within gender/queer theory, such as Judith Butler and Riki Wilchins, with their work upon emancipating gender from sex and illuminating the existence of identities departing from heterosexuality and gender conformity. My work is typically rendered in the medium of oil paint, allowing the creation of a layering effect, fast gestural mark making, and most importantly it is conducive towards a mediation between the body represented in the paintings and the viewer observing such, creating a dialogue between the experience of one’s own body in relation to others.