Lucy Smith

Masks, in both the physical and metaphorical sense, have always been an integral part of my practice. Their inherent mystique and ambiguity creates a fascinating subject matter. Masks create anonymity, disguise, and transformation, allowing endless possibilities in artistic expression.

I favour dramatic colour palettes and figurative painting, often incorporating performance as a starting point for my work. My practice considers the complexities of human condition and contemporary dread through my use of narrative, character, and limited colour palettes. I aim to create unsettling atmospheres through simplifying subject matter and creating dreamlike narratives to create an element of ambiguity in each piece.

I created a short film, Change your Hair, Change your Life, exploring the idea of hair as a metaphorical mask. This film mocks the superficiality of beauty standards by depicting a dominatrix hairdresser, mutilating, and then transforming a woman’s hair. These bizarre characters represent hair as a societal mask. The main character represents the viewer, and the hairdresser embodies the cliched nature of capitalistic advertising techniques. After discussing this topic, I concluded that hair is one of the most fundamental elements of a woman’s appearance and serves as a mask to ensure comfortability. I use humour to shed a light on the sexuality and identities associated with hair.

My paintings are a theatrical nod to the film, using bright colouring and simplistic mark making to recreate the scenes. Each piece creates an unsettling atmosphere due to the violent, tortured or even sexual expressions on the characters’ faces and the chaotic nature of the brushstrokes.

Overall, my work aims to cast a different light on storytelling, challenging stereotypes and exploring the darkly comic nature of the human experience and masking.