BA Fine Art, Falmouth University, 2018
Phoebe Hardwick's paintings explore the unconscious. The juxtaposition of hyper-realistic colour and assured brushwork with ambiguous narratives creates a space where repressed memories and desires surface. The uncanny elements in her paintings evoke a sense of familiarity disrupted, prompting viewers to confront their own subconscious associations. Her paintings act as a mirror to the viewer's psyche, reflecting the complexities of identity, memory, and desire.
My paintings manipulate and play on the themes surrounding women in art, both currently and historically. Drawing inspiration from past painters, especially those of Dutch and Flemish origins, the paintings are rendered in a naturalistic style so as to demonstrate their connection to reality and to art history. This is contrasted with bizarre or peculiar compositions so as to heighten the women's ambiguous settings and thus create a space for audience contemplation.
