‘Explored through varying degrees of abstraction, from fragmented structures of flesh like forms to translucent silhouettes of the human figure, which sink into and mould around the boundaries of the canvas. I tend to work on one painting at a time, working by a process of both intuition and design. In doing so, each work is indicative (albeit in hindsight) of my own fluctuating relationship to the body and space at the time of making.’

These brand new intimate portraits of the Coffee Morning series are part of her most recent work where she reflects on the complications of the female body image and how that is perceived in art and other imagery. Still partially abstract, this series is more figurative than her older work. The fluid lines of these artworks have a certain tenderness and feel very personal and - in a sense - recognisable. Working from memory, the work is partially abstract to retain a sense of ambiguity. This way, the work remains open for the viewers' own assumptions of the subject of the painting. 

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As drawing is the common thread that runs throughout her entire practice, every one of her paintings begins with gestural marks, forged in charcoal from memories of the human figure, be it hers or another’s. Both in the planning of the work and in the resolved image. Its immediacy and honesty provide the bridge needed between her subconscious and physical awareness, her mind and body. Through a continuous process of constructing and deconstructing layers, this constellation of marks flow through form and space, blurring the line between interior and exterior. In a sense, the body has a long tradition within the history of art; it’s the oldest subject in painting. Traditional depictions ranged from meticulously detailed portraits to the more loosely painted figurines. But at the turn of the 20th century, artists started to tear up the tradition. The fauvists disregarded accurate representation of colour and the cubists and surrealists shocked viewers in their depiction of mutilated, dismembered, or distorted bodies. Picasso, for example, radically restructured how you can represent reality, which included overthrowing any conventional depiction of human figures. 

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But also beyond painting, the body has been a constant artistic theme ever since. A prime example is the body art movement, in which key figures like Ana Mendieta and Carolee Schneemann used their own bodies as artistic material. Ana Mendieta, for example, explores it in relation to nature, and the spiritual connections between them. In, for example, The Untitled: Silueta Series, a project that span over a decade, starting in 1973, she would carve, print or shape her body in the earth to seek out, in her words, that ‘one universal energy which runs through everything: from insect to man, from man to spectre, from spectre to plant, from plant to galaxy’. Lucy brings a contemporary perspective to this traditional genre as she explores the current fragile relationship of the body with the physical.  

Lucy holds a BA (Hons) in Drawing at Camberwell College of Arts and is in her final year of the MA Painting programme at Royal College of Art. She is a recipient of the Basil. H. Alkazzi Scholarship 2019-2021. Her work has been exhibited all over London, such as the Pastel Society Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London, and the Multiplied Art Fair, Frieze Art Fair, London.

Follow Lucy on her instagram and website.

Artwork photographs courtesy of Karimah Hassan and Sarabande Foundation. Portraits taken by Alina zum Hebel (website/ instagram). Photography courtesy of where’s the frame? and Alina zum Hebel.

where’s the frame? - ‘PAPER MODE’ is a collection of 6 up and coming London based artists. The collection is available from April 21, 2021, until July 21, 2021.

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