Encephalic Cleansing #14 Painting

Gaynor is a self-taught artist working in painting, photography, film and music (composition, production and voice). She was born in Hull, East Yorkshire and currently lives and works in London. Photography is a central component of her work. Her image The Spy won Judges Choice Award from the Association of Photographers in 2012. In the same year, the National Portrait Gallery acquired her portrait of renowned reportage photographer Neil Libbert for their permanent collection. Music is also central to the sensory experiences conveyed in Gaynor's art.‎ At Leeds Festival 2019 her audiovisual work St Anne's Well was broadcast in the cinema tent to conclude the festival programme. ‎Leeds Festival attracts 75,000 visitors each year. This experimental 40 minute piece was inspired by a little-known ancient holy well and underpinned by her love of nature; especially the avian realm. She evokes memories of playing on the site of St Anne's Well as a child. Describing her artistic practice Gaynor states: "To discern the precinct of truth, it is essential to nurture a fluent dialogue with the subconscious. By developing a keen awareness of intuitive feelings, a curiosity and belief in the imagery and sensory episodes delivered in the dream state, one can discover an authentic affinity with the world. I would like the viewer of my work to be drawn into the imagery and explore their own sensory response without deliberately guiding them to any foregone conclusion of my own, but opening them up to the tangibility of the inner worlds." From an early age Gaynor often sought out the dark, mythical places around her home town of Hull and let her imagination breathe life into the haunted stillness of her surroundings; creating a new reality to explore, inhabit and interpret creatively. Exploring the minds subconscious imagery, she succeeds in “keeping the possible impossibility of dreams” ever near allowing her to capture the fleeting moments between imagination and perception.