“The central subject of my practice is the process of women empowerment in the context of contemporary society. I often use self-expression to source my ideas in order to convey universal female truths. With this body of work naturally focusing on the theme of beauty, my paintings present powerful female characters with aggressively formed, almost caricature-style, grotesque faces and confident poses. The characters are fully aware of the viewers presence, and they invite you, knowing that they are in control. The paintings present a reclamation of the representation of women in art due to this being historically a passive one and they often make references to these paintings of the past. Within contemporary society there is a notion that women must be physically perfect, pristine and delicate. I am instead trying to portray a realistic, human representation of these women. I am interested in testing the aesthetic boundaries of taste and creating contradicting feelings of attraction and repulsion in the viewer through intense colour, heavy impasto and seductive yet almost ugly characters. I also want to evoke feelings of awkwardness and discomfort in some viewers, and particularly for the male gaze.”

Hattie Malcomson was the recipient of the 2020-21 Cass Art x Phoenix Art Space Studio Award, and has enjoyed a year of free studio space at Phoenix Art Space. Find out more about Cass Art.

Join us for the exhibition preview on Friday 8 October, 6 – 8.30pm.
From 9 October – 7 November, the Window Gallery will be open Wednesday – Sunday, 11.00 – 17.00. Free entry, no booking required. See here for details on what Covid-19 health and safety measure remain in place.