Painting

Fine art student specialising in painting mix media. Based in Belfast, studying at Ulster University. I plan to use a blog to document the progress of my work.

Delving into Ernest Hemingway’s short stories, such as Mr & Mrs Elliot, conveying his assumed life style as that of a macho and virile alpha male according to biographers, “Hubert could not sleep and several times went out and walked up and down the corridor of the hotel in his new Jaeger bathrobe that he had bought for his wedding trip. As he walked he saw all the pairs of shoes, small shoes and big shoes, outside the doors of the hotel rooms.” This descriptive passage conjured up a bold narrative of an empty presence which influenced my work. The concept of my work involves analysing his stories to seek the balance between Hemingway’s masculine and feminine qualities hidden in his works, emerging these aspects into space/room of his personal demons which developed from childhood memories carrying into his adult life. I indicate these conflicts through paint.

As a female painter, I have previously focused on the representation of the feminine subject and how they have been objectified in the arts and in society. I began to analyse the male perspective in order to better understand the female position within these aforementioned areas. I briefly studied the system of patriarchy; this helped me understand what stereotypical masculinity meant as a female. Ernest Hemingway’s stories identify these traits as he captures ego, dominance, and lust which are incorporated into my own work and I have explored the dialogue within literature and collage formulating a representational narrative of the story.

I was drawn to Hemingway’s work because of his frequent use of the male protagonist which dominates his work and because it gives a deeply personal, albeit subconscious, account of his own life. From the perspective as a female artist, Hemingway allows the spectator an insight into his macho persona. Despite Hemingway’s numerous close encounters with death, it eludes me that he later committed suicide and even in today’s society suicide still remains a common phenomenon, particularly among men. I can sense frustration in his works with his inability to confront his feelings as it is seemingly incompatible with masculinity. I incorporate these elements into to paint as if creates a relationship between Hemingway's writing and my painting. 

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