Artist’s Statement

I am interested in what it feels like to inhabit a woman’s body over time. I use drawing and painting to explore feelings of intimacy and exposure. What often emerges are surprisingly uninhibited female figures.

My drawings tend to be small and intensively worked on. I am never quite sure what images I’ll produce before I begin. I often scratch and stroke the paint on the paper, allowing a sense of vulnerability or ambivalence to be expressed. I use pencil, watercolour, gouache and acrylic; mixing up different media to create dense, skin-like works which have a rough surface that invite touch. I love the feel of wet paint and to see watercolour silently staining the white paper.

These drawings are a like a fragmented dialogue with myself. They are a way of understanding the strange things that are happening beneath conscious awareness.  I often use titles to add a poetic dimension to the work, a bit like a visual diary. I try to capture a sense of spontaneity and freedom which is so important not only to my artwork but also my everyday life.

Siobhan Wall