Sarah Brown

My paintings pair ancient imagery from mythology and biblical stories, with contemporary portraits that capture moments from my own inner mindscape. I create a language of intricate symbols that allow me to freely express personal themes, while leaving it up to the individual viewer to decipher these in their own way. I am interested in the depth of meaning a single object, animal or plant can hold and use these to build narratives within my paintings. Self-portraiture is at the centre of my art practice and I am intrigued by the connection between the art and the viewer, and the effect that subtleties in facial expression and body language can have on this.
I create images of things that don’t exist in this world, but that allow me to process things that do – using my creative practice to therapeutically work through my own challenging emotions or experiences. I mythologise elements of myself and my thoughts to produce colourful and mystical paintings which each have their own narrative. My connection with nature has been prevalent in my work throughout my degree. This feeds into my paintings as I depict creatures from both natural and mythological worlds, and develop strong symbolism behind them. Within my compositions are a web of complex interactions between people, animals, and the world they are a part of. My hope is for these to foster intrigue and unique interpretations that are not limited to my original idea, but instead leave space for new stories to emerge.