Winter

Issue

Collect
Art
Seasonal Edition

December, 2025

NO.86
on the cover: ‘Life With Free Wills And No Limits’ by Yiming Tang
Table of
Contents
EDITOR’S MESSAGE 04

IGOR GRECHANYK 05

SUSAN WILLIAMS 10

GORAN TOMIC 14

ROBERT ROGERS 18

SCOTT BAKER 22

GERALDINE LEAHY 26

LEWIS ANDREWS 31

PAUL-EMMET COSTELLOE 35

RACHEL LARKUM 38

JAN WURM 42

YIMING TANG 47

LAURA CANDET 52

MIRIAM HABIBE 56

COLLECT ART
Editor's
message:
Welcome to Volume 87 of Collect Art Magazine — a Seasonal Edition that
celebrates artistic diversity without boundaries. In this issue, we step away from
a single unifying theme to give space to the pure, unfiltered voices of
contemporary creators across the globe. Art, after all, is not always seasonal in
subject, but in spirit: shaped by moments, moods, and lived experiences.
Within these pages, you’ll discover a vibrant constellation of international artists
working in a wide range of mediums, perspectives, and visual languages. Each
contribution is accompanied by artworks, biographies, artist statements, and
personalised interviews, offering an intimate window into the minds, processes,
and stories behind the work.
This edition invites you to explore freely — to follow your curiosity rather than a
directive, to wander through expressive worlds that contrast and converse in
unexpected ways. Whether contemplative or bold, conceptual or emotive, every
piece presented here reflects a singular creative journey within our shared
global cultural landscape.
Thank you for joining us for another issue that honours creativity in its many
evolving forms. We hope these pages leave you inspired, moved, and connected
to the voices shaping contemporary art today.
Igor Grechanyk
'Through my art, I create a perspective of energy to structure the surrounding harsh chaos and build a
humanitarian space directed towards the future. In this process, I strive to capture the invisible inner
essence of phenomena and sensations, overlaying them with a visible texture like a net''

Hands of Time
Bronze, 55x33x45cm, 2025

05
Igor Grechanyk is a sculptor and artist whose work blends philosophical symbolism, mytho-poetic imagery,
and a contemporary sculptural language. His creations are visualized fragments of spiritual experience,
resonating with the collective unconscious and touching on the eternal questions of human existence. He
gives form to the undefined, materializing spirit in bronze.
Born in Kyiv into an artistic family, Grechanyk graduated from the Kyiv State Art Institute in 1984. His early
career, shaped by the ideological pressures of Socialist Realism, led him to a fusion of classical plasticity
with a metaphysical intensity of image.
Grechanyk’s work gained early international recognition even during the Soviet era and the 1990s, with
exhibitions in East Germany, Sweden, France, and the USA (including the Lincoln Center, New York).
However, it was from the early 2000s that he began participating actively in major international exhibitions
across Europe and Asia.
His figures possess an architectural stability and read as symbols—a blend of monumentality and surreal
vision. His approach is closer to the thinking of ancient masters: “Only the spirit matters,” he says. “I
materialize it in my own way… The spirit itself chooses both the form and the vessel.”
The core of his current creation lies in exploring new digital and material dimensions, capturing the elusive
concept of 'Time' and pushing the boundaries of sculptural language to reflect the contemporary human
condition. His large-scale public sculptures serve as cultural ambassadors at notable sites internationally.
Collected by connoisseurs worldwide for its rare ability to touch the deep, archetypal layers of human
perception, the art of Igor Grechanyk stands as one of the defining voices of his generation — a creator
whose visions will remain as vital tomorrow as they are today.

Wild Boar Leaping into Infinity

Bronze,
56x25x33cm, 2019

06
Your works often explore themes rooted in esoteric
doctrines and ancient mythology. How do these influences
shape your creative process, and how do you choose which
symbols to incorporate into your sculptures?
It is essential to tune into a certain wave of energy before creating a
sculpture. This wave of energy comes and inspires me to develop a
new concept (work). It allows me to embody not only my ideas but
also deeper, universal energies. Our world is filled with meanings,
contents, and symbols, and they constantly knock on the doors of
human consciousness. Rather, symbols choose the work of art
through which they manifest and come into the artist's field of vision.
You describe your approach as an "open form," allowing for
multiple layers of interpretation. How do you invite viewers
to actively participate in creating new meanings from your
works?
In my creative works, I incorporate several layers of perception. They
function like stairs, inviting the viewer to engage with the art. The first
level is visual and more formal. The second level emerges when
spiritual meanings appear behind the formal aspects. This level is
more detached and encourages a rethinking of the visual image. The
third level opens up a space for stimulating the viewer's imagination.
A whole labyrinth of meanings is created, and the emotional charge
of the artwork acts like the thread of Ariadne, guiding the viewers into
a space where they are alone with themselves. This offers them an
opportunity for a new perspective on themselves and the world
through my art.
Your transparent sculptures combine solid fragments with
light and air, challenging conventional ideas of mass and
form. Can you explain the role of emptiness in your work,
and how it contributes to the viewer's perception?
Lines outline the boundaries of voids, which are not actually empty
spaces, but volumes of energy. These voids also serve as spatial traps
for external energies. When viewers approach my works, I hope they
can feel a certain energy emanating from these "gaps." It is not
merely an absence of material; rather, it is an opportunity for the
viewer to fill these gaps with their own experiences and thoughts.
The gaps and caesuras in your solid sculptures seem to serve
as points of interaction between the artwork and the
viewer. What role do you see openings playing in shaping the
emotional or intellectual experience of your pieces?
I perceive these gaps and caesuras in my sculptures as fissures
between worlds, as pauses. These voids resemble the gaps in our own
world, through which another world of spirit gazes upon us. They can
also serve as a metaphor for our own perception of reality: we often
try to find meaning in what seems empty or undefined.

Tangency - Iron, Bronze, 217x53x53cm, 2025

07
You mention that your mission as an artist is to liberate
spiritual energy and reveal the potential of the viewer. How
do you approach translating this mission into tangible form
through your sculptures?
Art not only reflects reality; it also creates a space for interaction with
other dimensions or states of being. I believe that each sculpture is
not just an object of art, but an energetic portal created by the artist
between our world and other unknown worlds. Through
contemplation and focused attention on the artwork, the viewers
enter into a non-verbal, direct contact with it. This connection allows
the viewers to feel the energy of a distant universe. My role in this
process is to infuse the work with energy and meaning, to make it
compositionally interesting and emotionally charged. It should
capture attention and engage the viewers in an energetic wave that
brings them into a space for self-expression, reflection, and
emotional enrichment. An artist must have a well-developed inner
world for their messages to hold significance.
Your artist statement suggests that art is a path of infinity
and that the artist is an instrument of the Universe. How
does this philosophy influence your exploration of themes
like energy, self-awareness, and the cosmos in your work?
This concept encourages me to explore the connections between
energy, self-awareness, and the universe. I believe that each work is
part of a greater whole. My task is to reveal these connections and to
travel through them as a wanderer on the paths of the universe. An
artist is an element of the universe, generated by the universe for its
own self-discovery.
How do you approach the relationship between your
sculptures and the environments in which they are
displayed?
When elements of transparency or special lighting are created in a
sculpture, this already implies an interaction with space. They are
prepared for this interaction during the creation process. The space
in which they are exhibited can vary. It may be more active,
aggressive, or more restrained, open to active interaction or to
focused contemplation and reflection. In each of these different
spaces, my sculpture reveals itself in various ways. It is like a melody
that can be performed in different styles—classical, rock, or jazz. This
is already an arrangement of the idea, the main concept that each
work carries. The space is seen through the artwork, while the
artwork overlays the surrounding space. This collaboration creates a
new piece. This piece penetrates the surrounding space, spreading
within it and encompassing it. At the same time, the space enters the
sculpture, beginning to live a new life and gaining new opportunities
for self-expression within it.

Whirlpool of Life - Iron, 232x70x54cm, 2023

08
 Your art often blends realistic elements with contemporary
concepts, creating new visual impressions. How do you
achieve a balance between these opposing forces in your
sculptures?
These combinations should be unexpected to break traditional
patterns of perception. They highlight the limitations and artificiality
of conventional classifications in life and art, which are created by
humans to simplify the understanding of the surrounding world.
These simplifications often overlook the most significant aspects of
our existence. Through unexpected approaches and combinations, I
focus on new meanings that may have roots in the past or present,
but are directed towards the future. This encourages the viewer to
engage in deeper analysis and personal discoveries. The balance
between the realistic and the contemporary in my work is not just a
formal aspect, but rather a philosophical one. My references to the
history of art, as well as elements and traditions of realism, allow the
viewer to experience familiar emotions. At the same time, elements
that go beyond realism offer new meanings and encourage the
viewer to engage in deeper analysis. These elements autonomously
find their own place in the sculptures during the creative process.
How do you see your large-scale pieces contributing to public
spaces and the broader cultural conversation?
I believe that large works of art can become important cultural
symbols that unite communities. The sculptural representations of
prominent figures, which I infuse with metaphors and allegorical
approaches, not only honor these individuals but also serve as
significant symbols that shape collective memory and national
identity. They become places for gathering, discussion, and reflection.
In general, large artworks compel people to pause in public spaces.
They gather and focus viewers' attention, which is often scattered in
all directions, on the questions and messages conveyed by the
artworks. These pieces encourage us to reflect on the meanings of
our existence within our environment.
How do you envision your work evolving to continue
engaging viewers in this collaborative process of meaning-
making?
I see my art and art in general as an evolving process. For me, the
main focus is on content and emotion. When a viewer is emotionally
captivated by a work of art, and when that work conveys its
meaningful message, the artistic image becomes a conversation
partner for them for a long time. Moreover, I want to use modern
technologies so that viewers can interact with my works in new ways.
Currently, I am creating video animations and a series of digital
paintings based on my sculptural images. These works unfold the
image over time and add new layers of meaning.

Ladybirth - Bronze, 150x37x27cm, 2019

09
Susan Williams
Susan Williams is a British artist whose practice spans site-responsive installation and a wide range of
media. Trained at the Royal Academy, she has exhibited extensively across the UK and internationally, with
residencies in Michigan (USA), Toledo (Spain), and Laugavatn (Iceland). Recent exhibitions include the Posk
Gallery in London, the Hackney Open, and the Swiss Art Expo in Zurich. Her work investigates light, space,
and place, engaging with themes of ecology, spirituality, and the metaphysical. Drawing inspiration from
the everyday—the essential and fundamental aspects of life—her practice reveals unexpected insights into
human experience and shared humanity.

Breakthrough
Installation, 4x1.5x23.5m, 2024

Installation made for the Lee Paper Mill project at the Prairie Ronde
Residency in Vicksburg, Michigan, USA. Sticky tape hung between the beams
and the floor held orn pieces of paper. The work was made as a reaction to
the confining paper folding that I spent 2 weeks doing before breaking out,
indeed, tearing up that same paper. It reflects the ongoing renovation of this
vast space as a metaphor for the end of the Mill's paper-making era, as it
transforms into multiple entertainment centres. It responded to the light in
the room, at times celebratory, a dance, a procession, at other times darker,
more skeletal, like, raw and destructive, linking to the 3 tornadoes that
passed by during my stay. The work also links to the peeling paint on the
ceiling behind it, left as a reminder of the history of the building. More
broadly, it is a metaphor for the end of the Mill's paper-making era, as it
transforms into multiple entertainment centres.

10
Your practice is described as site-responsive. How do specific environments or locations shape the
conceptual and material development of your installations?
Different places have their own history, economy, and current affairs that suggest certain materials that might fit
with the physicality of the space. The practical needs of the material, eg, how it will stand up, lie down, attach to
walls or objects, etc, plus availability and budget considerations, come into play. These become my guides, so I am
actually led by the realities of a place.
How do you decide which medium or form best serves the ideas you’re exploring in a given project?
Installation is almost always my first port of call, with other media growing around and from it. I rarely start with a
concept but discover it along the way, although occasionally the concept comes immediately. Some works offer the
potential for animation or photography, or digital media, while others offer video potential, all depending on the
character of the work and location.
Light, space, and place are central to your work. How do you approach translating such intangible
elements into physical or experiential forms?
All materials respond to light or shade, accentuating their forms, sometimes with highlights that are more visible
than the material itself, adding an intangible or ethereal element. Alternatively, certain colours can blend into
backgrounds and shadows, merging or appearing flatter, less 3 dimensional, stranger. My natural disposition is to
work large and spread things out using space itself as a material, adding an airiness to the work. This can also set
up a range of perspectives that change the viewer’s interaction with the work in important ways.
Ecology, spirituality, and the metaphysical are recurring themes in your practice. How do these
intersect or inform one another in your creative process?
The ecology of a place is represented through associations of the material, which can lend itself to human
representation, eg, shoes as the leftovers of people, materials dancing as people do, or empty bottles becoming
containers of the spirit. These combinations can then give rise to an unearthly presence as part of the layered
meanings in a work.
All Walks of Life - Installation, 40x4m, 2024
Shoes are mounted on perspex stands that seem to disappear, leaving the viewer with what appears to be a procession of walking shoes - the missing people becoming notable.
This is the 5th variation of my large shoe works. Here, it captures the ethos of the gathering, capturing the history of the Northamptonshire shoe industry in a historical setting. The
installation was fitted to the space, linking the entrances on either side of the lawn and suggesting a procession or gathering, unity, diversity, and shared purpose. The shoes reflect
all walks of life from every age group, including shoes that were completely trashed, to barely worn, and were all donated by the public. The colours of the shoes were arranged to
flow into one another and create a harmony, a rainbow of sorts, when viewed from the side. Other associations include a parade, a flower bed, a river or stream, the flow of life, of
time, and aging.

11
You mention being inspired by the “everyday” and “the basics that are the fundamentals of life.”
Could you expand on how ordinary materials or experiences become sources of revelation in your
work?
Ordinary materials or everyday objects tend to become invisible through their familiarity, so discovering and
amplifying their qualities can feel refreshing, inspiring, and stimulating. Everyday items also offer widely shared
experiences that in a new context can seem unexpected, attracting wider audiences. Presenting a material in its
wider context can also be very thought-provoking.

Hunger
Installation,
4.5x5.7m, 2025

Cardboard packaging food boxes are opened up and folded along the creases so they can free-stand. Associations include a market place, perhaps the
stock exchange, with the coloured shapes almost roaring, perhaps competing for space or to be heard, big voices. The reverse side of the work appears
city-like, packed, the blanker side concealing the inner voices (see next slide).

Having exhibited and undertaken residencies in diverse environments—from the US to Iceland—

how has working across cultures and climates influenced your artistic sensibility?
Different cultures have different approaches to life, sometimes through their economies, customs, leisure pursuits,
or their landscape. For example, in Iceland, they have myths of giants, believe that magic exists in the landscape,
and have an ancient runic language. This inspired the use of gnarled twigs in the studio and bent straws at a
lakeside resort.
How does the viewer’s physical or emotional presence factor into your installations? Do you consider
your works complete only when experienced by others?
My works are complete when they have their own voice and find a resolution that is final, often accompanied by a
loss of interest on my part; however, having the audience’s response always adds to the work. Exhibiting today
only really requires photographs, as publications such as Collect Art, together with online shows, allow the work to
live on well beyond its making or gallery exhibition.

12
Spirituality and ecology can both involve ideas of connection and transformation. How do these
notions emerge visually or spatially in your installations?
I have a huge respect for both material and location, seeing them both as precious, which I think encourages
sensitive observations and combinations of materials and place, and methods of construction. I work with natural
light, acknowledging the realities natural to the space and material rather than adding my more egocentric ideas.
Also, sometimes I have a sense of something chiming in my chest, which is a message that this is the path to take,
no matter what it looks like now. For me, these values, rules, and cues lead to where unknown connections and
transformations take place.
You trained at the Royal Academy. How has that foundation in traditional fine art practice
influenced the way you approach more conceptual or site-specific work today?
My time at the Royal Academy was, in fact, very experimental, and students were encouraged to find their own
voice. My voice started with large-scale installation and everyday materials and gradually became more complex.
My process now also incorporates natural light as an ingredient, site-relevant issues and events linked to time,
which could be the season or wider issues like current affairs or both, becoming a more ecological approach to my
work.
When you reflect on your career so far, from residencies abroad to exhibitions in London and Zurich,
what experiences have most deeply shaped your understanding of art’s role in engaging with
humanity and place?
For me, art can help to make people feel more alive, live more in the moment, if only briefly. It helps people
connect with the world outside their routine thoughts, especially if they see work relating to them as part of their
own culture. It stimulates thought, touches their emotions, shares narratives, and inspires conversations and
connection.
Stepping Stones
Installation, 8x60x80cm, 2025

2 pairs of recycled socks are cut up and made to stand on end. The toes and heels are left intact so that you can still see they are socks. The forms
resemble modernist sculpture, calling to mind Henry Moore and Richard Serra, only really tiny and in one sense absurd since they are socks.

13
Goran Tomic
“The Way Things Aren’t” is my latest series of Collages, which is an exploration of how things are
misunderstood, misrepresented, or simply not as they seem. It’s a narrative on the Now and hints at
subversion and satire, that plays with expectations, upends norms, and reveals hidden truths through bold
visuals and layered meanings. It features a wide range of humour and irony and invites philosophical
investigation, suggesting a negation or inversion of reality, truth, or perception. It evokes curiosity about the
nature of existence, knowledge, and how we understand or misunderstand the world. “The Way Things
Aren’t” is a focus on non-existence or an alternative to what we take as real, the absences, illusions, or
possibilities that never materialized. A meditation on the unrealized potential or critique of our assumptions
about what constitutes reality. It raises questions about how we know what we know, or a deliberate
embrace of falsity as a lens to see differently. My intentions are a confrontation with absurdity and the void,
and what if we define ourselves not by what we are, but by what we are not.‘’
Building To Last
Collage, 38x58cm, 2024

Goran Tomic, a self-taught artist from Sydney, Australia, creates collages that capture the chaotic beauty
of urban life. His pieces, often made on the move—in cafes, pubs, or even on public transport—reflect the
shifting dynamics of his surroundings and daily routine. Prompted by his transition from a spacious house to
a compact apartment, Goran utilizes materials like cardboard, envelopes, and old book covers, blending
them into distinctive compositions that embody the city's vibrancy. His art transcends mere visual
expression; it is a journey through urban decay in search of the "Wilderness Robe," a symbol of authenticity
in a constantly evolving world. Influenced by Robert Rauschenberg, Goran’s installations and performances
challenge viewers to rethink the boundaries between art and everyday life.

14
How did the transition from a spacious house to a compact apartment reshape your approach to
materials and the act of collage-making?
I had to rethink where I was going; it forced me to see the preciousness of space as a sense of physical wealth.
Therefore, I had to create breathing space in my collages for the soul and mind to move around in. As I have
adapted, the work has become more complex and frenetic, just like the environment itself.
You often create on the move — in cafes, pubs, and public transport. How does the energy of these
transient spaces influence your work?
The best place for me is being the eye of the hurricane, where it is still and sane while the madness and chaos swirl
around me. The frequencies and vibrations of these locations cut themselves into the construction, revealing how
I’m being influenced by it. I purposely like to place myself in awkward and uncomfortable zones to see how it
affects my creativity, by working very quickly under a state of urgency and stress.
Can you talk about the idea of the “Wilderness Robe” — what does it symbolize for you amid the
chaos of urban life?
The Wilderness Robe is a symbolic spiritual costume or psyche of solitude, transformation, and security. It is a
haven that aligns with purity and protection, a divine covering in a spiritual and mystical context. It is nature’s
primal calling of survival and adaptation to an unpredictable psychological setting.

The Vacuity
Collage
35x30cm, 2025

15
Your series “Mapping Approximation” presents a modern version of Dante’s Inferno. What parallels
do you see between today’s world and Dante’s vision?
I see it everywhere in everyday life, the lustful, the gluttonous, the hoarders and wasters, the rejection of spiritual
values for materialistic narcissistic ones, the fraud and malice against fellow humans, these are all concepts
personified today, especially in urban environments, it’s universal.
Instead of obvious imagery of destruction, your collages rely on subtler signs. How do you balance
chaos and restraint in your compositions?
By making the viewer or audience work their minds and not be lazy and have things deciphered for them, by
substituting imagery to work it out for yourself, why does this make me feel this way, or why is this disturbing? It’s
like a Tarot card reading; it's not always what you might think it is. The interesting thing is that society only really
knows Dante’s Inferno; they never remember the Paradise section.
Discarded materials like cardboard and old book covers feature heavily in your work. What draws
you to these overlooked fragments?
What draws me to them is the character and personality they have, compared to the hollowness of the screen.
They are remnants of a past that is hard for new generations to understand, modern archeology in a way.
How do you view the role of art in addressing urgent issues?
Artists are the Visionaries of the times; dreams beget reality. Creatives must place a mirror in front of the world. It is
important to voice our concerns and use all facets of art, including technology, to showcase our failures and
destructive consumption.
War minus the Shooting - Collage, 51x63cm, 2025

16
In a world increasingly dominated by digital
processes and AI, why do you choose the hands-
on, analog method of collage?
I guess I’m a bit older and old school; the digital world
hurts my head. I love the challenge and search for the
right idea or aesthetic through texture and colour, plus
flicking through books and magazines, the images
choose me. This way I’m not collaging, but I’m being
collaged.
How has being a self-taught artist shaped your
relationship with creative freedom?
It has helped me push and continually pursue the
inner depths of my true self and total individuation. I
have never had to unlearn what the institutions think I
am.
If your collages are maps, what kinds of
journeys or destinations are you hoping to
chart for the viewer?
I’m hoping to chart and convey the concept “this is the
Way things Aren’t” and journey to the gaps between
reality and perception, inviting reflection on what’s
being challenged or flipped upside down, the interplay
of presence and absence in our own thinking. Culture Attack
Collage, 39x27cm, 2024
Anima_Animus Partially Submerged Cabaret Voltaire
Collage, 39x27cm, 2024 Collage, 39x27cm, 2024

17
 Robert T. Rogers

Robert T. Rogers is a multidisciplinary artist focused on contemporary perspectives on mental health and
spirituality. He draws from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to highlight the importance of aligning with one's
values to boost motivation and manage moods and behaviors. Influenced by Christian ethics, he uses
various mediums like oil painting, drawing, photography, and text to create multilayered projects that
reflect the complexity of his subjects. Rogers’ oil paintings emphasize mark-making and explore color,
shape, and gesture as a means of conveying emotion. The work invites an immersive experience that
bridges personal and shared emotional realities. Subconscious painting and intuitive decision-making are
central to his process, which often unfolds physically on the floor, as he moves around and rotates the
canvas. Symbolic references to Western Christianity appear throughout, grounding the work in spiritual and
cultural narratives
All That Time
Oil on canvas, 16'’x20'’, 2025

18
 Devotional Claim - Oil on canvas, 16'’x20'’, 2025

Your work bridges contemporary perspectives on mental health and spirituality. How did these two
themes first begin to intersect in your creative process?
I’m convinced that pursuing values and expressing oneself benefits the mind and spirit. My creative process
includes analysis and reflection, empathy, and imagination. I journal often and see intersections. While the
paintings are visual evidence of expression, there’s a wellspring of heart, mind, and soul from which the process
flows.
How does psychological practice inform your visual language and material choices?
I find abstract expression with oil paint a great way to see what’s on my mind. My inner landscape may be colorful,
but I decide how to show it. I like oil paint because I can scrape it, and I think that shows effort. Goals require effort
to reach, as discussed in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
Many of your pieces incorporate Christian symbolism within secular or abstract contexts. What
draws you to explore spirituality through a modern, multidisciplinary lens?
I’ve used Christian symbols in writing and photography; in paintings, I sometimes reference Christianity through
titles and descriptions. I think the human spirit helps guide individuals and societies. Religion may serve as a
framework for spiritual yearning, and that yearning has continued from early humanity through today.
Your painting process involves working intuitively and physically with the canvas on the floor. How
does this embodied approach influence the emotional or spiritual tone of your work?
Whatever is happening in higher levels of experience, there is a ground level. A vision may be ideal, but does the
real result reflect it? Often, I seek an ideal while working. Physicality keeps things down to earth, and it is for real,
including the tone.

19
You work across several mediums—painting, photography, drawing, and writing. How do these
forms converse with one another in your artistic practice?
Aspects of mental health and spirituality appear across mediums in my work. While styles differ, such as abstract
expressive painting and conceptual photography, the work at times relates thematically. When I write, I wonder
about the values guiding my words and actions and those of others. When drawing, I rely on observation and
imagination, important to my practice.
Do you see your work as questioning, affirming, or reinterpreting faith?
I think a person can have strong faith and still wonder about cosmic order because human understanding, even
with advances through time, is limited. I appreciate religious traditions besides Judeo-Christian, and I recognize
that many people have no faith. My faith influences my worldview, and my worldview considers others’ views. I
think about faith, reflected in my art, and I believe in Jesus Christ.
Can you share how your background in advertising and American Studies has shaped the way you
think about visual communication and cultural narratives in art?
With advertising, I’m often drawn to work that raises awareness or affects consumers’ perception of a brand. Visual
communication, alone or with copywriting, can work to do that. I think representational art works well in
advertising. I prefer abstraction for my emotions. As for the influence of American Studies, it has helped me to
recognize multiple perspectives and narratives, and that practice extends beyond American art.
In what ways does mark-making serve as an act of devotion or reflection in your paintings?
Mark-making, whether intentional or spontaneous, shows my interaction with the canvas. The interaction reflects
my commitment to create an object, pleasing at least to me, that I have not seen before. Devotion involves
commitment with deep emotional attachment. Through reflection, I confirm that passion is part of my devotion.
How has cross-cultural dialogue influenced your exploration of spirituality and mental health?
I like knowing that contemporary perspectives on mental health and spirituality are welcome in more places than
the United States. Many societies care about these themes. I have noticed that some organizations emphasize one
or the other. Perhaps they think mental health is more secular than spirituality, even though the latter does not
necessarily mean religious?
Untitled - Oil on paper, 9.75'’x15.5'’, 2025

20
Monastic Echo - Oil on canvas, 20'’x16'’, 2025 Key Prophecy - Oil on canvas, 20'’x16'’, 2025

Looking forward, what new directions or concepts are you interested in exploring within your
ongoing inquiry into emotion, belief, and identity?
I want to express my personal take on matters of religious studies, which I’ve been exploring. A recent example is
the idea to create paintings that convey my feelings about phases of the social drama model, a cultural framework.
I’m still interested in Revelation and will likely create art that references it.
Urge to Transcend - Oil on canvas, 20'’x16'’, 2025 Polite Pushback - Oil on canvas, 20'’x16'’, 2025

21
 Scott
Baker

Scott Baker, a 49-year-old

abstract artist, began
painting at the start of
2023, despite having held
a strong interest in art
since childhood. Although
creativity had always been
present in his life, he did
not pick up a paintbrush
until recently.
His personal journey has
involved overcoming
significant challenges,
including alcoholism, and
he has now been sober for
more than a decade.
Abstract painting has
become a vital means of
expression for him—a way
to communicate profound
inner experiences without
the need for words. Much
of his past is difficult to
discuss, and art provides
the ideal outlet for
translating those emotions
into visual form.
Scott approaches each
piece intuitively, painting
whatever he feels in the
moment. He describes his
work as a “screenshot of
the soul,” capturing the
emotional landscape of a
particular moment in time.
You’ve Killed The Saint In Me - Acrylic on canvas, 40'’x20'’ 22
Can you tell us more
about how emotion
translates into color,
form, and texture in
your paintings?
I always say I feel in
colours, red for example,
can be love or anger,
which is great because it is
still open to interpretation.
Form and texture come
from allowing my heart to
rule my mind.
Having only begun
painting in 2023, what
was the moment or
experience that
inspired you?
I was painting a room in
my house, and I found it
very calming, and it
switched my overthinking
mind off, so I bought a
canvas and some acrylic
paint to see if that would
have the same effect. I
originally wanted to do
realism, but that involved
way too much thinking for
me. I tried abstract, and I
just switched off, and it felt
so natural to me to be
painting in that style.
How has the act of
creating art
contributed to your
recovery and personal
healing journey?
My recovery is a daily
ongoing thing, so my art is
my way to express my
innermost feelings without
having to talk about them,
and that to me is
therapeutic.
Liberation of the Mind
Acrylic on canvas, 40'’x20'’

23
How do you approach the blank canvas—do you plan your compositions or allow intuition and
emotion to guide each stroke?
I don’t plan anything; if I have planned something, it always goes somewhere else once I start painting. I do,
however, have at least two colours that I am feeling before I start, and just go by feeling from there.
Abstract art often relies on feeling rather than representation. How do you know when a painting is
finished or when it has fully expressed what you needed to say?
It sounds like a terrible answer, but I just know! Once a painting completely shows exactly how I am feeling, then I
know it’s complete. The best way I can explain it is when a writer finishes a sentence, they know it’s complete
because all the relevant words are there; my paintings are complete when all the “words” explain what I am feeling.
Has your perception of yourself or your past changed since you began painting?
It has helped me greatly to confront my past instead of running away from it. It has helped me turn negatives into
positives and made me realise that everything happens for a reason, even if you don’t know the reason at the time.
Many people find it difficult to express painful experiences through words. What do you think art
can communicate that language cannot?
If you are talking to someone about how you are feeling, you are telling them, but if you are doing it through art,
then you are getting to release your feelings, but also leaving them to interpretation and getting your feelings out
there, but also leaving them unknown.
Are there certain colors, tools, or techniques you find yourself returning to because they hold
personal or emotional significance?
I never use brushes as I don’t like them, I get more expression from palette knives or scraping paint with pieces of
cardboard or plastic. Colour is mood dependant, some days are colourful and some days are black and white but
colour doesn’t mean happiness nor does black and white mean sadness, some of my most colourful paintings
came from the darkest place.
Acrylic on canvas, 40'’x20'’
Trying To Find A World That’s Been And Gone

If You Don’t Control Your Mind Someone Else Will

Acrylic on canvas, 40'’x20'’

24
Loneliness Is Not A Phase, A Field Of Pain Is Where I Graze The Bitterest Pill Wave Of Mutilation pt3
Acrylic on canvas, 24'’x18'’ Acrylic on canvas, 24'’x18'’ Acrylic on canvas, 24'’x18'’

How do you hope viewers connect with your work—do you want them to feel your emotions, or to
find their own meanings within your abstract forms?
I never explain my paintings to anyone. Once you explain exactly what something means, then people stop looking
for their own meaning to it. I already know what my paintings mean to me, so I am more interested in what they
mean to other people and what emotions they draw from them. I love nothing more than being able to make
people just feel something, anything; it’s a beautiful thing to be able to do.
Looking ahead, how do you see your artistic practice evolving as you continue to grow both
personally and creatively?
I am extremely blessed that I can paint things that resonate with others and bring emotion out of others, and more
than anything, I would love to continue to do that. Apart from that, I’ll leave everything up to fate. I am sure I will
end up wherever I am meant to be.
Acrylic on canvas, 24'’x18'’
Gilded Scars

Acrylic on canvas, 24'’x18'’

Black And White Town

25
Geraldine Leahy
Geraldine Leahy is a contemporary landscape artist with an interest in environmental concerns. She
returned to education to study art with The Open College of the Arts, the distance-learning partner of The
University for the Creative Arts (Farnham, England). A lifelong interest in landscape and the natural world
informed her degree studies and in her final project, she focused on the damaging effects of coastal
erosion on one of her local beaches. She has continued to engage with this subject since achieving a BA
(Hons) Painting degree in 2022. Regular visits to the beach have made the artist aware of the
entanglement of natural and manmade materials on the shoreline and of the detrimental effects the latter
has had on the littoral environment. Ironically, Leahy’s use of manmade debris such as plastic and rope,
which she embeds into the painting surface by monoprinting, often results in artworks that possess
attractive, organic, and flowing qualities. These seemingly innocuous characteristics confirm that manmade
materials are stealthy and contagious adversaries, becoming entangled with and imperceptible from their
natural counterparts as they contaminate the
environment. The artist hopes that by highlighting
these incongruities, the viewer will be drawn to
reflect on the effects their own actions might have on
the environment. Consequently, Leahy continually
engages with opportunities to submit work to art
publications, awards, and exhibitions as a way to
bring this concern to a wider audience. The artist has
shown work in several exciting and diverse venues,
including Art Trá shoreline exhibitions on beaches in
the south of Ireland, and the ‘Climate and Health’ art
competition, which took place in the beautiful 19th-
century venue of the Royal College of Physicians of
Ireland. In 2024, she took part in ‘Paths’ in Venice, an
exhibition that ran in parallel to the 60th Venice
Biennale. She has been longlisted/shortlisted in
various art awards, including the VAO UK and
International Emerging Artist Awards (2023, 2024,
and 2025) and The New Emergence Art Prize (2022).
In March 2025, she was a finalist in the Art Team
Emerging Artists Awards, receiving an Honorable
Mention for one of her paintings. Leahy has also been
featured in many art publications, including Collect
Art’s ‘101 Contemporary Artists and More…’ (Vol. 2 and
Vol. 10) and in their Special Edition Vol. 73, ‘Drawings’.

Corroded Yellow Wire/ Found Wire

Acrylic inks, acrylic, and gouache on canvas, 20.32x20.32cm, 2022

26
My practice involves the observation of traces and imprints Plastic Dispersion - Monoprint, mixed media on canvas, 30x30cm, 2024

in the coastline, the marks of both natural processes and

human interventions. I explore impermanence and mutability
by investigating residual marks in the environment following
severe weather events. My paintings seek out the
unexpected in the landscape – incongruous objects and
situations that are the result of natural processes and human
actions. A discarded bicycle gear interrupts the natural
beauty of the place. Unravelling the fibres of rope possesses
strangely organic characteristics. Plastic strands, deadly to
marine life, ironically generate diaphanous forms that float
elusively in the water.
My approach involves working with layered processes that
reflect the mutability and temporality of a fragile
environment. Perception of local memory, embedded and
submerged, resurfaces and is exposed in personal
Plastic Paradox - Monoprint, mixed media on canvas, 37x37cm, 2024
belongings as the terrain disintegrates and subsides.
Fragments of crockery and broken bottles jut out of the
sand. Walking is interrupted by tilting fence posts, collapsing
dunes, and scattered fragments of corroded metal. Coils of
wire, flex cable, netting, and splintered wooden planks lie in
the sand. These items linger on the beach, traces and
imprints of the processes of a changing climate.
As I walk the coastline, I become aware of the
entanglements of the natural and the manmade - the
pernicious inseparability of materials such as plastic and
seaweed, wire and grass. I explore the incongruity of
manmade materials, which assume the appearance of
organic forms throughout the painting process. These forms
mutate into evocations of the entanglement of mankind and
the natural world.

Unleashed
Monoprint, mixed media on paper,
Veiled Contagion
15x21cm, 2025
Monoprint, mixed media on paper,
40.5x40.5cm, 2025

27
 Mutation
Monoprint, acrylic, and gouache on canvas board, 45.5x60cm, 2020

Your work emerges from a direct engagement with the coastal environment—can you describe the
emotional and sensory experience of walking the beach after a storm?
Walking the shoreline following a turbulent weather event, I am always dismayed by the changes that have
occurred. A confusion of new materials is embedded in the sand, creating a desolate and overwhelming sight.
Items such as corroding metals, coils of wire, and a surfeit of plastic debris linger on the windswept beach like
traces and imprints of the processes of a changing climate. Walking is interrupted by subsiding fence posts and
collapsing dunes. It is unsettling to consider how long it took this tenuous landscape to form and yet how relatively
quickly it can be destroyed.
What draws you to the littoral zone specifically, and how does this transitional space reflect the
tension between natural forces and human impact?
The littoral zone is an exhilarating place to be, revealing shifting moods and changing prospects. This mutable
space between land and sea, which is particularly subject to severe weather events, is a good indicator of what is
happening elsewhere in the natural world in terms of the detrimental effects of climate change. Entangled
materials, both natural and manmade, linger on the beach, ironically creating through their presence an acute
sense of absence and loss about the littoral environment.
How do your sketchbooks function in your creative process?
My sketchbooks establish a connection with the littoral zone. They help me to remember my thoughts about the
beach and how the weather was on a particular day, as well as record unusual sights and embedded debris. A
sketching session on the beach necessarily involves walking. As I walk and sketch the shoreline, I am inspired by the
philosophical conclusions of anthropologist Tim Ingold, social scientist Sarah Pink, and geographer Tim Edensor
about how the sensory aspects of walking, often in various weather conditions, make us knowledgeable about a
place.

28
 Tangled Landscape
Monoprint and acrylic on paper,
22x33cm, 2020

You use both natural materials like seaweed and manmade debris in your work—how do these
materials interact, and what conversations do they spark on the canvas?
I am continually amazed by how these diverse materials have become entangled to the point where it can be
difficult to differentiate between them on the beach. In the studio, manmade items adopt natural characteristics
throughout the monoprinting and painting processes. This sense of entanglement and mutation is an ironic
confirmation of the extent of mankind’s detrimental effect on the coastline. On the canvas, these transformations
create paintings that are intriguing and open to interpretation, and which I hope will encourage the viewer to
carefully consider their behaviour towards the natural environment.
How do you navigate the balance between the personal and the universal in your art?
While my work begins in my locality, I also like to bring it to universal attention because climate change is a
worldwide issue. I regularly submit work to art prizes, publications, and exhibitions, both at home and abroad.
Some of the opportunities I choose are directly concerned with environmental issues. Others are more general. I
usually take part in interviews if they are available. In this way, I can draw attention to the problem of climate
change, highlighting my personal experiences and my efforts to demonstrate it through my artwork.
How has your return to education and formal art study shaped the evolution of your practice?
I engaged in distance learning with the Open College of the Arts (Barnsley, UK) for a BA (Hons) Painting degree,
which was accredited by The University for the Creative Arts (Farnham, UK) in 2022. The support I received from our
Programme Leader, tutors, and fellow students was hugely instrumental in establishing my voice as an
environmental artist. The skills I learned were wide-ranging, from academic reading and essay writing to practical
advice when organising a solo exhibition – and much more. Without this formal study, I would not have acquired
the personal voice I now possess.

29
 Strands
Monoprint, acrylic, and gouache on paper,
15x21cm, 2025

Are there specific sites or coastal communities that have particularly influenced your work?
In 2021 and 2022, I took part in shoreline exhibitions on a number of beaches, where the work was curated about
the particular location. Sometimes the paintings were hung on driftwood poles in the sand, laid out on a rocky
foreshore, and once they were suspended from a small, wrecked boat. Each exhibition was hung in an
environmentally friendly way and was subject to tidal and weather conditions. The coastal community, curator,
and fellow artists were very supportive, and I found the whole experience extremely interesting, informative, and
uplifting.
As someone working with themes of loss and transformation, what role does hope play?
Climate change is an overwhelming presence in all our lives, and it is easy to become depressed about it. I think it is
important to possess a sense of hope and to look for the good news stories as an antidote to all the negative press.
I try to make my paintings look appealing – some of them are quite attractive – because I’m aware that not every
viewer wants to look at ugly or distressing images. By getting my point across in a subtle, less abrasive manner, I
hope to engage more viewers and encourage them to want to take action. Actively working for the environment, as
opposed to merely worrying about it, should make viewers more hopeful and resilient.
How do you see the role of the artist in environmental advocacy today?
The artist has a very important role to play at this critical time of climate change and there are a great many
creatives who have become activists for our endangered planet. Working in various media and a variety of
processes, they are highlighting different aspects of the climate emergency from rising sea levels and flooding to
the proliferation of plastics in our environment. In terms of the diverse range of approaches adopted by artists
today, it is both an exciting time to be an artist working in landscape and environmental art, but also a worrying
time because of the reason we are compelled to do it.

30
Lewis Andrews
Lewis Andrews moved to Leeds in 2016 to study a BA(Hons) in Fine Art at Leeds Arts University. After
graduating in 2019, Lewis continued to work in Leeds. In 2022, Lewis completed his Postgraduate Fine Arts
Degree also at Leeds Arts University, graduating with a Masters Degree in the Creative Arts. During his
Master’s Degree, Lewis’s practice became deeply focused on the methodology of translating information
and data from sources within science into artworks. Lewis has continued to work and build upon this
method in his work, constructing a theory of working called ‘The Informative Encounter’.
Since 2019, Lewis has participated in 100+ exhibitions across the UK and internationally, with many notable
achievements. Lewis held his first solo show, '186,000mi/s' whilst studying at Leeds Arts University in 2018 at
Wharf Chambers, Leeds, UK. Lewis was one of the artists picked to participate in the Aon Community Art
Awards program 2019 running through 2021, with his oceanic sublime photography work displayed in Aon
Headquarters, London. In November 2020, Lewis was selected to participate in the Mayes Creative
Watching the Sun: Virtual Residency alongside other artists with an interest in astronomy and ancient
astrology. Lewis went on to participate in two more virtual arts-science residences with Mayes Creative.
Work from the residency was included in a publication that now resides within the Royal Astronomical
Society Archive. Lewis joined Mayes Creative once again for their January 2024 residency in the Cot Valley,
Cornwall, UK. Lewis has formed strong relations with the Brazilian art organisation Artlymix and the
Georgian-based gallery Collect Art. As of present, Lewis has featured in 26+ exhibitions with Artlymix in
Sao Paulo, Brazil, and 29+ of Collect Art's publications & Digital exhibitions, to name a few of his
achievements. Lewis continues to work from his studio based in Leeds, UK.

'The Bacteriophage' series of drawings shines light on the silent The Bacteriophage
assassins ruthlessly killing millions of bacteria every single day.
Phages are all around us, both on our skin and within our bodies. Bacteriophage I
A Phage is a virus that attacks by locking onto the surface of Ink on watercolor paper,
21x29.7cm, 2025
another cell, puncturing the surface with its spiked tip, and
injecting its genetic material in order to take over the internal
production factories of a cell to make new Phages. Fortunately
for me and you, they only attack bacteria with a specific phage
genus targeting a specific bacterial genus. Think of them as
highly sophisticated microbiological missiles.
These assassins are everywhere on Earth. Our cells encounter
them every day, both on us and inside us, and politely get ignored
by the Phage while it searches for its next target. An average of
40% of all bacteria are killed by Phages in the ocean every single
day.
Recently, Phages have generated a lot of interest in our pursuit of
trying to cure difficult illnesses regarding antibiotic resistance.
With certain strains of bacteria becoming more and more that sometimes, to become more resistant to phages,
resistant to antibiotics, the days when a scratch or a cough could bacteria may have to give up some of their antibiotic
kill you are becoming a reality once again. However, Phages are resistance. This is all new science and still very much in the
specialised killers, and we may be able to find a way to identify a research and testing phase. Whichever the case, this is a war
phage that attacks these problematic bacteria, breed them, and that has been waged between Phages and Bacteria for
inject them into our bodies to cure these illnesses. Even if the millions of years, and it doesn't show any sign of slowing
bacteria evolve, Phages also evolve, and a study has also shown down.

31
What is the most rewarding aspect of being an artist for you?
There are so many aspects that I feel are rewarding about being an artist; however, I would say it offers a
playground for expression and exploration. With my practice, I incorporate ideas from nature and science, which
I’m curious about and want to explore further, and visually conduct investigations into them, which then produce
my artworks. As a child, I often liked looking through books with lots of images; they felt like windows to something
else. Now, being an artist, I can create my own windows but also learn about a subject matter in the process. The
additional bonus is that I then get to display that artwork in either an exhibition or publication like this one.
What draws you to explore the universe, and how do you hope your audience will respond to it?
This aspect of my work can be traced back to my constantly asking myself, ‘What’s our place within this cosmos?’.
Honestly, I don’t mind if the answer turns out to be something like we are insignificant; it’s the asking of the
question that’s the fun part to me, due to all the learning involved to get to the answer (which will probably never
be answered). When it comes to the audience, this is a question I like to leave open: What do they feel their place is
in our cosmos?

32 Bacteriophage II, III, IV - Ink on watercolor paper, 21x29.7cm, 2025

Can you share how your time in Leeds has shaped your artistic vision?
100%. My studies on my Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Leeds have shaped my practice to become what it is
today. The way I like to think of it is my Bachelor's laid the foundations of my practice by guiding me to different
subject matters which fascinated me and creating work based on those interests. My Master's builds a
superstructure on top of those foundations by focusing on how the subject matter should be communicated and
spending time to develop the theory of an ‘Informative Encounter’ methodology of working.
Have you noticed any differences in how viewers from different regions or cultures interpret and
engage with your art?
Yes. People from all walks of life have now encountered my work, and it’s interesting to see the different responses
I’ve gotten from the variety of work and development of trying to stimulate the ‘Informative Encounter’ with the
audience. Above all else, the most important aspect for me is that the work so far has opened up conversations
between the audience out of general curiosity in the subject matter and wanting to learn more.

33 Bacteriophage V, VI, VII - Ink on watercolor paper, 21x29.7cm, 2025

What emotions or thoughts do you aim to evoke in your audience?
When exploring either end of this spectrum, my work aims to convey curiosity and wonder with awe. Because
artworks are a reflection of the artist’s emotions, these three, I would say, are the ones I experience when I
read/research the subject matter. As mentioned previously, with the technique of an ‘Informative Encounter’ in my
work, the artworks aim to stimulate these sorts of emotions when interacting with a viewer.
Do you create to understand or do you express what you have already learned? Or is it some combination
of both?
It’s a combination of them both. Most of my work aims to achieve some kind of ‘Informative Encounter’ with the
audience. A gain in scientific information through the use of a visual medium. Of course, I’ve already learned about
the subject matter whilst making the artwork, but there have been a few subjects I’ve understood more through
creating the work.
What does it mean to be original or unique (referring to art)?
Tricky. Nothing in art is original; it’s always been influenced by something else. Think of it more like a tree constantly
growing. I’m just another branch growing off the influence of previous works and artists. To be unique, again,
tricky. Sounds simple, but I would say just be yourself and stay true to what you want to create and your ideas.
Is the result more important than the process? Or the process?
Equal within my practice. To stimulate the informative encounter I mentioned earlier, the artwork needs to
translate the scientific information visually so that the audience can access that information. Then, of course,
there’s the end product, which catalyzes the informative encounter.
Does art have a purpose?
Indeed. However, an artwork’s purpose can be decided by the artist or viewer. The list is endless in terms of the art
that has been created over the centuries.

Bacteriophage VII
Ink on watercolor paper, 21x29.7cm, 2025

34
 Paul-Emmet
Costelloe

Paul-Emmet Costelloe is an Irish-born painter. He works from an art studio in Wimbledon, where he
produces his vibrant oil paintings. Paul-Emmet’s works are the visual reality of a present and imaginary
world. Travelling around the globe, from home-based Wimbledon windmills to the terraced houses of
Amsterdam, he brings his canvases to life.
Watchful Eye
Oil on gesso panel, 55x44cm, 2024
I created this piece whilst on a long weekend in Sussex. I went to a famous
and well-known cliff called Beachy Head. It is an incredibly beautiful and
dramatic place, and I wanted to create that feeling in this piece.

Summer Breeze
Oil on gesso panel, 63x53cm, 2025
This artwork was inspired by my time in Cornwall. As a full-time artist, I like
to travel around the UK looking for inspiration, and there is no better place
than Cornwall. During my stay in Cornwall, I stayed in a thatched cottage
right by the sea. It was so peaceful and had a calming presence. I wanted to
create that feeling in this piece.

Paul-Emmet Costelloe is an Irish-born painter. He works from an art studio in Wimbledon, where he
produces his vibrant oil paintings. Paul-Emmet’s works are the visual reality of a present and imaginary
world. Travelling around the globe, from home-based Wimbledon windmills to the terraced houses of
Amsterdam, he brings his canvases to life.
His early works are a labour of love for the coastal landscapes of his birthplace, and a current passion for
the coast of Great Britain. These landscapes are rich in colour and form. Using a palette knife, he portrays
the coastal cliffs and sandbars, and highlights the land mass so effectively, the oils sing from the canvas.

35
With his love of the water, he has brought
various harbour views and a series of London’s
bridges to life, all in his semi-abstract style.
His use of colour is joyful and unrestrained, and
in its pure naivety, very compelling. The
European trend for houses of various hues has
inspired Paul-Emmet to create sun-drenched,
blue-skied fantasies, which lift the spirits and
imbue a sense of timelessness into any display.
Using a lead pencil, Paul-Emmet sketches his
image onto canvas, and moves the paint in a
wave-like motion, which adds depth and texture
to the finished piece. His most recent paintings
have shown a lighter, softer hand, using a chalk-
like effect which brings a well-balanced and
thoughtful response. Presently experimenting on
gesso panels, Paul-Emmet begins a new phase
working on different surfaces, also to include
stained-glass and ceramics.

Ellis Windmill
Oil on canvas, 91x61cm, 2024

Two Canal Boats

Oil on canvas, 60x92cm, 2024

36
 The Wild Atlantic Way - Oil on gesso panel, 53x63cm, 2025

37
House on the Hill - Oil on gesso panel, 44x54cm, 2025
 Rachel Larcum

Rachel Larkum, an artist with more than 30 years of experience in the creative industries, has worked across
an extensive range of disciplines, from 2D and 3D animation to interactive design. Her career has spanned
children’s television, computer games, interactive media, and design, enabling her to explore storytelling
and visual communication in many forms.
She began her creative path with a BA Hons in Illustration and Graphics from Edinburgh College of Art,
followed by an MA in Animation at the Royal College of Art. This foundation led her into the animation
industry, where she started as a 2D animator in Sydney, Australia, contributing to children’s television
productions. She later moved to London and worked on interactive animation projects for Cartoon Network,
including The Powerpuff Girls and Dexter’s Laboratory. Her practice expanded into 3D animation and
brought her to Sony Entertainment, where she spent several years working on a variety of PlayStation titles.
She also contributed to children’s television for ITV, working on the live-action CGI production Little Big
Mouth. Beyond entertainment, she has applied her design expertise within the rail industry as a graphic
designer and animator, as well as for London-based PR and design agencies, most recently producing
graphics and motion work for Canon. Rachel’s animation work has been showcased at festivals across the
UK, and her RCA graduation film was acquired and broadcast by Channel 4 in 1995.
Alongside her industry practice, she has accumulated more than 18 years of experience lecturing in
animation and graphic design at art schools across the UK. She has taught at institutions including the
London College of Communication, the Cambridge School of Visual and Performing Arts, Greenwich
University, London South Bank University, Edinburgh College of Art, and the Glasgow School of Art. She
currently lectures on the Animation & Illustration course at Cambridge School of Art and serves as the
external examiner for Middlesex University’s Animation and Games course.
In addition to her teaching and commercial work, Rachel is currently engaged in a drawing research
project exploring the Power of Community, which will be part of a group exhibition later this year. Her work
documents the strength and fragility of human connections, examining themes of identity, belonging, and
collaboration. She has always been fascinated by the ways people come together, work alongside one
another, and share their stories. Her previous projects have focused on documenting people and places,
and these ideas continue to shape her current work.

38
 Girls do lunch
Mixed media, Giclee print on watercolor paper,
29.7x21cm, 2024

39
Your career spans over three decades and
crosses animation, interactive media, design, and
education. How have these diverse experiences
shaped you?
My work, dating back to my studies at the Edinburgh
College of Art, has consistently been rooted in an interest
in people and narrative. Across animation and
interactive media, my practice has focused on bringing
concepts to life in a manner that is both engaging and
visually compelling. This desire to move beyond the
limitations of static 2D imagery is what ultimately led me
toward animation, where I could introduce depth,
movement, and an additional dimension to my creative
output.
From 2D animation in children’s television to 3D
game development at Sony and interactive
projects for Cartoon Network, your work has
evolved through many technological shifts. How
has your creative process adapted as each new
medium introduced new possibilities—and new
constraints?
I have always been confident in using software and
applying it creatively to projects. I would say as a
Brooke Street
creative person to keep yourself employable, you need Mixed media, Giclee print on watercolor paper,
29.7x21cm, 2024
to be adaptable and be able to move between software.
Brixton
The process stays the same on the whole, but being able
Mixed media, Giclee print on watercolor paper,
to learn software on the job and not be phased by 29.7x21cm, 2024
having to jump between different software is important.
How have diverse studio environments shaped
your artistic voice and approach to collaboration?
I enjoy working in teams and working collaboratively. I
think my experience at Sony not only pushed my
software skills, but also my professional skills.
Communication is important, and learning to be able to
take feedback and sometimes criticism about your work,
and being able to quickly respond to it, is really
important.
How has working with emerging artists impacted
your own practice and the way you view the
future of animation and visual communication?
I enjoy working in art school; it is fun, and I enjoy being
around creative people. Art school is a different place
from when I was at Edinburgh and RCA, but the
industries have changed too, so I am keeping up and
adapting with that as a lecturer. Working with students
has been inspiring, and no day is the same and even
with limited resources, you can achieve a lot.

40
How has your perspective on that RCA film
changed as your practice has evolved?
My RCA film was based on two eccentric musical hall
entertainers who were twins, whom I met in Islington
at Sainsbury's. I have always enjoyed meeting
creative people and talking to them, and from that
initial spontaneous chat developed into what
became the basis of my graduating film. Observing
people is still very much part of what interests me,
and my recent work about community continues
that theme.
How do you navigate commercial work,
academia, and personal research, and what
does each uniquely offer your creative
development?
As a creative person, to keep yourself employable,
you must be versatile. Within the world of academia,
personal research is very much at the core of what
you do. Working commercially is different, and you
have restrictions, tighter deadlines, and guidelines.
This might not suit all creatives, but I have enjoyed
working in corporate environments. I am a
professional person and enjoy the boundaries.
Your current drawing research project examines the Power of Community, exploring human
connection, identity, and shared experience. What first inspired you to investigate these themes,
and how does drawing enable you to express their emotional complexity?
I enjoy drawing, and my current project, The Power of the Community, has become an opportunity to draw people
from all different backgrounds and document them. I am inspired by the reportage illustration of people like
Lucinda Rogers and enjoy drawing a snapshot of people’s lives.
Documenting people and places has been a consistent thread in your work. When you observe a
community or environment, what qualities or stories are you instinctively drawn to capture?
I enjoy travelling and over the years, and always take a sketchbook when I go away. I like capturing the moment
and the different cultures, as well as the characters that you meet. This has always been central to my work.
Having worked across entertainment, public sectors, and design agencies—including recent work
with Canon—how do you balance personal artistic intention with the demands of commercial or
client-driven projects?
I think when you work commercially, you have to accept you won’t have the creative freedom as you do in your
own work, and you must adhere to brand guidelines and to strict deadlines. But I think for me, I have just always
enjoyed making artwork, whether it's commercial or personal, it’s kind of all I want to do with myself. Even if I
wasn’t doing it commercially, I would still do it for fun.
With such a broad creative journey behind you, what directions or mediums are you most excited to
explore next? Are there emerging technologies, artistic practices, or research areas that you feel
could open a new chapter in your work?
I feel a little unsure how things will pan out with AI, and it does concern me. But certainly, with animation and
graphic design, I need to embrace new technologies and keep up, as this will long-term become the norm. Within
my own practice, I want to continue to work with pencil on paper, for me, I get a buzz from that, and it feels more
immediate, but certainly commercially, I will explore new techniques and technology.

41 Marking your mark - Mixed media, 29.7x21cm, 2024

Jan Wurm
Wurm is an artist, educator, and curator engaged in
expanding the community forum for contemporary art
dialogue. Having lived in California, where she
received a B.A. from the University of California, Los
Angeles, and Europe, where she received an
M.A.R.C.A. from the Royal College of Art in London,
Jan Wurm has honed an eye for social patterns and
conventions. She currently divides her time between
Berkeley and L.A. and her hand between drawing and
painting. As an artist, Wurm has been engaged by the
familiar and challenged by the unknown. Her
paintings, drawings, and artist's books examine daily
life to reveal aspects of contemporary culture that
inform our relationships. This graphic body of work
has spanned time and geography in over a hundred
exhibitions in California, New York, Canada, England,
the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, and Italy. Wurm has
been the recipient of five grants from the Center for Wheelchair
Ink on paper, 8'’x12'’, 2000
Cultural Innovation and a commission from the Del
Sol String Quartet funded by Chamber Music
Skating Series
America. Mixed media on yupo, 14'’x11'’ each, 2011

42
Infused with warmth, humor, and an energetic line, these paintings on
canvas and mixed media works on paper invite the viewer to contemplate
the moment. Jan Wurm’s work is in collections including the Los Angeles
County Museum of Art, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, New York
Public Library Print Collection, Monterey Museum of Art, San Diego Museum
of Art, Archiv Verein der Berliner Künstlerinnen, Berlin, Universität für
angewandte Kunst in Vienna, and Tiroler Landesmuseen, Innsbruck.

Hindsight
The Mourners
Oil on canvas,
Oil on canvas,
36'’x48'’, 1999
48'’x72'’, 1998

Wurm taught for the University of California Berkeley's Art and Design Extension Program, ASUC Art Studio,
and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Wurm served eight years interviewing and mentoring Regents’ and
Chancellor’s Scholars, served the CalArts Alumni Group organizing and moderating seven annual symposia,
and developed programs for mentoring Alumni Artists. Wurm has juried exhibitions, been a visiting artist,
and lectured extensively for institutions including the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the Sonoma
Valley Art Museum. Wurm organized and facilitated a Guest Artist Lecture Series for the Berkeley Art
Center for five years and is actively engaged in documenting work of the art community through catalogue
and book publications as well as video recordings. Past Director of Exhibitions and Curator of Art at the
Richmond Art Center, Wurm has authored exhibition catalogues and curated major exhibitions focused on
a humanist tradition. Her projects included Closely Considered: Diebenkorn in Berkeley; Mildred Howard:
Spirit & Matter; David Park: Personal Perspectives; Mapping the Uncharted; Joan Brown: In Living Color;
Earth, Wind and Fire; and Face Forward: Self-Image & Self-Worth.

43
Having lived between California and Europe, how have different cultural contexts shaped your view
of social interaction and visual storytelling?
Traditionally, there had been stronger differences in public and private behavior in Europe compared to more
casual behavior in California. In Europe, more formality in a public setting would be maintained in dress and
demeanor, with less public enactment of the personal and private. In contrast, the private and personal routinely
found their way to California beaches, shopping malls, and restaurants, manifested in dress, posture, and
language that was extremely informal. A significant contributor to recent shifts in public behavior in Europe, the
mobile phone, now, as in California, brings the conversation, whether business or intimately personal, to play out
on a public stage.

Skating on Thin Ice

Oil on canvas,
Polyptych, 48'’x144'’, 2011

You describe summer light as softening and energizing your painting process. How does seasonal
change affect your palette, rhythm, or emotional tone?
Not being a landscape painter, there is probably little expectation of weather keeping me from a scene; yet, the
seasons do shift my focus from the domestic and interior to an open, expansive sprawl across beach or ocean. The
palette vibrates, and the paint, primary and saturated, stretches in all directions. In images without walls, the
figures can bask in the sun, splash in the pool, chase waves, and dream at leisure. Following dark winter paintings
of books and drink, summer extends light and color fueled by a sun that embraces the skin, ripens the fruit, and
lingers in a slow setting; not parting until we have had one more swim, one more game, one more peach, one
more...just one more...
Your work captures everyday moments with such warmth and immediacy. What compels you to
focus on the ordinary as a subject of artistic inquiry?
The “ordinary” is such an extraordinary vessel for so much human emotion and socialization. Collected objects can
hold memories of childhood or travel, or loss. Simple daily activities of family life or recreation mirror relationships
of commonality or conflict, isolation, or connection. These encounters at the dinner table or on the tennis court can
reveal values ingrained in private lives, amplified in educational institutions, and echoed in political structures.
There’s a strong sense of narrative and movement in your figures—how do you develop a scene that feels
both intimate and universally familiar?
A minimalist sensibility renders the figures in relatively unmarked spaces that are slightly identifiable chromatically
as interior or exterior, home or restaurant, beach or park, so that the narrative can live as if within the viewer’s own
environment/ experience/ memory. The abstraction of figures also allows for a universality of identification. With a
highly reductive presentation, a figure can become a cypher for childhood, motherhood, or a stranger in a
constellation that can evoke myriad memories or provoke deep questioning. The open expanse also eliminates the
distractions of surrounding objects and allows for a singular focus on body language, gesture, and the interaction
of the subjects—it plunges the viewer into the dynamics of the captured moment.

44
 Momento drawings - Mixed media on paper, 9'’x12'’, 2020

Humor surfaces subtly in your work—how do you balance tenderness with irony, or lightness with
complexity, in your compositions?
An empathetic rendering calls for care in placement, space and light for a figure to breathe and be seen, and an
engaged brush to allow a full view of experience –and this, just as life itself, also holds the awkward moment, the
spilled milk, the dropped ball, the lost opportunity–and so should also retain humor to buoy the spirit, to bear the
bruises or disappointments or sorrows.
As a curator and former Director of Exhibitions, how has your work behind the scenes of art
institutions informed your own creative practice?
It has been a privilege working closely with the art of others. Working as a curator sensitizes one to the impact art
has on viewers, on a community. It certainly brings questions into the studio and makes it more reasonable to see
work as appropriate to some venues and not to others. Whereas before I felt art should stand its ground –the
viewer should come to the work, I have come to see a different responsibility to the viewer in certain environments.
This is not acquiescing to censorship, but acknowledging different contexts for a range of artwork. My actual
making of art is not affected by these considerations, but the studio practice, as it encompasses exhibitions and
collection placement, now consistently takes into consideration the divergent nature of the intimate, the political, or
the humorous.

45 Momento - Oil on canvas, 36'’x48'’, 2021

Your paintings seem to celebrate the richness of social bonds. How do you translate intangible
feelings like comfort, nostalgia, or camaraderie into physical gestures and color choices?
Color holds enormous power. It can activate a painting by skipping across the surface, landing on a shoe,
fingernail, necklace, until it has brought the eye right to the lips for a smile or a smirk.
Color can shout opposition across team uniforms, or it can whisper the enveloping devotion of father and son
wrapped in color-coded matching plaid shirts. With the same deliberation, gesture reveals the tenderness of the
hand reaching toward the friend or resting on a shoulder, or the opposition of a shoulder turned, a face gazing off
in the distance. Just as every muscle signals thought and response, the frown or laugh exudes its color and posture.
You mention the humanist tradition. In today's digital and often fractured world, what does
humanism mean to you in the context of painting?
Painting allows, beyond direct representation, investigation, interrogation, and even invention. It allows
explorations in paint: a material that, in its plasticity, can present unexpected and surprising expressions of joy or
sorrow, peace or conflict, generosity or poverty. It allows for juxtapositions and fracturing, and distortions that
reverberate with meanings and emotions in a visual language of an unlimited vocabulary. As such, painting is a
vehicle for, as well as itself, a humanist expression.
With your extensive background in both practice and pedagogy, what do you think is essential for
sustaining an art practice over time—especially one so rooted in human connection?
Remaining open to people, to thought and culture, to nature and the environment –this will infuse art with the
energy of life and keep the practice engaging. Remaining connected to the constant movement and changes of
society and the world also keeps the work relevant, just as it stimulates vision and propels the hand.

Lear and His Fool

Oil on canvas, 18'’x24'’, 2011

46
Yiming Tang
Yiming Tang is a painter based in New York. He received his BFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School
of Design in 2025. Tang’s work investigates the tension between emotional imbalance and individual
alienation, reflecting the psychological strain of modern existence. His distorted figures and saturated
colors form a controlled chaos where rational order meets emotional eruption. As an Asian artist living
abroad, he transforms cultural displacement and solitude into a cinematic visual language, constructing
each work as a psychological scene balanced between clarity and collapse. Through the negotiation of
color and gesture, Tang’s practice becomes a psychological archaeology—an inquiry into how painting can
articulate the unstable consciousness of our time.

Yiming Tang’s practice revolves around the relationship between emotional imbalance and individual
alienation. He views loneliness as a constant state within the self—neither arriving or departing, but quietly
shifting forms. Repression and imbalance are its surface expressions, the fractures born from conflict
between inner and outer worlds. Through surreal oil painting, Tang depicts the collision of emotional
outburst and numbness, framing irrational sensations within rational structures. His paintings feel like seismic
moments in the psyche, pulling viewers between logic and illusion. Influenced by René Magritte, Andrew
Wyeth, and Andy Warhol, Tang merges familiar figures with unfamiliar spaces, transforming solitude into
visual tension. Each brushstroke embodies control and release, chaos and order. For Tang, art becomes a
form of cherished solitude—completed only when another consciousness meets it.

47 Rage - Oil on canvas, 9'’x12'’, 2024

 One Calm And Reasonable Pistol - Oil on canvas, 40'’x48'’, 2025

Your work explores the tension between emotional imbalance and individual alienation. What first
drew you to these psychological themes, and how have they evolved in your practice?
I’m someone who deeply enjoys solitude. I believe that great mindset progress can only happen when one is alone.
Yet within this state of isolation, emotions tend to cycle between suppression and eruption. While different thoughts
collide in the mind, emotions stir quietly beneath the surface of reason. This tension, drawn from my own solitary
experiences, became the core concept I wanted to translate through oil painting.
You describe loneliness as a constant state that shifts forms rather than arriving or departing. How
does this concept of “shifting solitude” manifest visually in your paintings?
In my practice, I pay particular attention to the relationship between the subject and its surrounding environment.
The figures or objects I depict often appear in a relatively distorted form within an open, almost vacant space. This
contrast allows me to convey both the sense of emotional eruption caused by imbalance and the feeling of
distance implied by vastness—together forming a fluid, unstable state of solitude.
Your use of distorted figures and saturated colors creates a vivid sense of psychological turbulence.
How do you approach the balance between control and chaos in your compositions?
The subjects I depict often possess sharp, well-defined contours. This comes from my compositional approach,
where I regard each form as an abstract pattern—composing the image through a collage of these patterns to
achieve a sense of rational design. Yet within each pattern, I apply brushstrokes that emphasize speed and force,
allowing emotion to erupt in a nearly violent manner. This expressive energy collides with the calculated outlines,
creating a tension between reason and instinct—a visual contradiction that feels both deliberate and irrational.

48
 Slow Days Fast Mind - Oil on canvas, 48'’x72'’, 2025

As an Asian artist living abroad, you mention transforming cultural displacement into a cinematic
visual language. Could you expand on how this cross-cultural experience informs your visual
storytelling?
After coming to the United States, I noticed something striking: although it is a multicultural country, there is a clear
separation among different communities, and the overall social atmosphere emphasizes individualism. In contrast,
the China I grew up in is a homogeneous society that values collectivism. Leaving that environment made me truly
reflect on the nature of the individual as a complete concept—and allowed me to experience, in a very direct way,
what it means to live and think alone. This experience has profoundly shaped my current artistic focus on the
relationship between emotion and solitude.
Stay Away From My Dinner - Oil on canvas, 32'’x72'’, 2025

49
You’ve cited René Magritte, Andrew Wyeth, and Andy Warhol as influences. What specific aspects of
their practices resonate with you most deeply, and how have they shaped your own?
René Magritte’s paintings are filled with an unreal quality hidden within the everyday, revealing the distance
between the human psyche and the external world—and through that, achieving a surreal atmosphere. Andrew
Wyeth, on the other hand, used tactile, expressive brushwork to construct a reality that is both intimate and
solitary, echoing the psychological isolation of modern life. Andy Warhol pushed the concept of color to its
expressive extreme, using a design-oriented aesthetic that challenged traditional notions of fine art in his time. I
find deep resonance with these masters and aim to carry forward and transform their understanding of alienation
and color within my own work.
What do you uncover or rediscover through your process of visual excavation?
I believe that oil painting and literature share a certain kinship—both serve as mediums through which the creator
articulates their thoughts and worldview. Just as a writer refines their way of thinking through constant writing, a
painter must continually create to test and reaffirm their aesthetic and conceptual beliefs. For me, painting is the
tangible projection of a mental storm; through this ongoing act of projection, my thoughts are constantly reflected
upon, challenged, and ultimately refined.
Your paintings often seem to exist between clarity and collapse—between logic and illusion. How do
you decide where that balance lies in a given work?
I don’t intentionally calculate the balance between logic and emotion in my work. The coexistence of these two
qualities feels more like a natural spring flowing from the mountains—something that emerges organically from
my reflections on emotion and solitude. I also believe there’s no need to overly design this equilibrium, as
uncertainty and spontaneity are essential elements of pure art.
In what ways do you see repression or imbalance as “surface expressions” of deeper psychological or
societal conditions?
Many people tend to view loneliness and emotional suppression in a negative light, but I see them as natural parts
of life—states that deserve acknowledgment and acceptance rather than avoidance. Only by recognizing the
objective existence of loneliness and emotional tension can we truly value and understand genuine connections
and relationships with others.

I Don‘t Know You But We Happy - Oil on canvas, 44’’x35'’, 2025 50 Step One Of Taking Down An Enemy - Oil on canvas, 44’’x35'’, 2025
How does your use of color function emotionally or symbolically within your work? Do certain hues
carry personal or cultural significance for you?
I often use exaggerated colors in my paintings to better convey the sense of eruption and distortion that comes
with emotional imbalance. Throughout my life, many objects—and even abstract concepts—have been assigned
subjective colors in my mind: my hometown is pale, the English language is blue, America is pink, and the wind is
cyan. On a subconscious level, I define color as an impression of feeling rather than a mere phenomenon of light
and reflection.
You describe art as “a form of cherished solitude—completed only when another consciousness
meets it.” What kind of dialogue or emotional exchange do you hope occurs when viewers encounter
your paintings?
I don’t believe that viewers have an obligation to fully understand my expressions of emotional imbalance or
solitude. These are deeply personal ideas, and not everyone will resonate with them in the same way. What I truly
hope for is simply the viewer’s time—the moment they choose to linger in front of my work. Whether it’s the
concept, the technique, or even just the brightness of the colors, as long as something in the painting holds their
attention a little longer, that’s enough for me. It means my aesthetic has been recognized in some way—and that
makes me genuinely happy.

Life With Free Wills And No Limits

Oil on canvas,
40'’x48'’, 2025

51
Laura Candet
Born in 1999 and raised in Bacau, Romania, Laura Candet is currently exploring the alarming increase in
femicide in Romania and around the world. Experiencing the gender gap firsthand, her visual art conveys
the frustration and powerful emotions felt during these turbulent times. With significant achievements in the
artistic and academic fields, Laura Candet combines theoretical and practical study for a good artistic
representation of her subjects. The artist has won multiple awards since the beginning of her artistic career,
including the L.S.R.S. Awards for Academic Excellence Abroad, Palace of Parliament (2024); Grand Prize -
Union of Plastic Artists of Romania (2023); Merit Award, Margareta of Romania Royal Foundation (2022)
and Excellence Award, Student Gala, Iasi (2019). Along with her ongoing doctoral studies and multiple
awards and participation in international exhibitions, the artist has also been recognized by the Margareta
of Romania Royal Foundation through its "Young Talents" scholarship and international projects in
collaboration with the Palace of Culture in Iasi, scholarships at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice and
Verona and artistic residencies including the European Artistic Residency in Barcelona and Paris.

Dancing motion - Digital Art, 30x50cm, 2023

''Working with the defragmentation of cultural and personal identities, my exploration focuses on the complex
relationships between society, identity, abuse, and mental health. In a world dominated by a rapid rise in extremism,
the artist creates a difficult study of the population's response to political events.
Working on my new personal exhibition regarding rising femicides in Romania and all over the world, I explore the
leading causes of hate crimes against women and young girls. Meditating on the ill-intended use of religion in the
uprising of femicides, my art explores violence in religion towards women. The verses of women being killed because
they "know" men isn't just a coincidence, but a rather horrible way of saying that a woman loses her value by not being
a virgin.''

52
Counterjour in the woods Counterjour in the woods II
Mixed media on canvas, 30x40cm, 2023 Mixed media on canvas, 20x30cm, 2023

Working subsequently with traditional New Year rituals in

Romania, artist Laura Candet focuses intensely on
developing a raw sense of belonging to something
greater than oneself. Systematically representing the
New Year's Goat, a tradition often found in Eastern
Europe and throughout Romania, she represents the
"death" of the old year and its rebirth into a new one
through a theatrical game played from house to house
to announce this event.

Rituals
Oil and charcoal on canvas,
40x20cm, 2023

The game anticipates rebirth and spiritual unity,

the goat often being made of traditional
blankets with archaic patterns and wood,
symbolizing the ephemeral, but also traditions
passed down from generation to generation.

Rebirth
Oil on canvas,
120x100cm, 2023

53
Your background is deeply rooted in post-communist Romania—a complex cultural landscape. How
has this shaped the way you approach identity in your work?
Growing up in the post-communist era of Romania in the early 2000s really impacted my art and my views on
childhood. Identity can be shaped by multiple factors, and the cultural identity of today is really shaped by the
childhood of many visual artists of today. In perspective, what truly impacted my art growing up in those particular
challenging times for a child.

Could you share some examples of how you visually depict fragmented identities?
I think the best way to describe this defragmentation is not how I d̀epict̀ it, but how the viewer has no choice but to
try to piece together fragments to create coherent images. Thus, I believe this is also how we form our identity,
constantly grasping new notions, hoping to create a whole piece.
Having worked across both traditional media like oil painting and New Media art, how do you decide
which medium best represents your current ideas and themes?
As a contemporary visual artist, I see mediums as only tools with which I explore ideas and concepts. I doǹt think I
am tied to any medium, but constantly challenging boundaries of art. Mixing and matching mediums is only the
beginning of creating art.

54 Identity Glitches - Digital Art, 40x40cm, 2023

How have recognitions impacted your perspective on Romanian art's place in the global art scene?
For me, it is truly amazing how community can impact the art scene and how we can grow if we are recognized for
our hard work. It is an honor for me to be selected ot represent my country and my field, and I think it all started
when I truly believed that my job was not to just create paintings but to nurture souls. In the global scene, I see
Romanian artists such as Adrian Ghenie and Dan Perjovschi who make a difference and inspire a lot of Romanian
artists to push for a better place in the art world.
You’ve worked with various institutions
through creative camps and production
camps across Europe. How has this
exposure influenced your creative
process and the narratives in your work?
I believe that these projects and camps don't
provide the exposure people assume they do,
but they challenge you to become a better
artist, a better creator, and person. It̀s
important to know people from your field, and
this can create multiple opportunities further
down the line, but what it truly does is expand
your knowledge.
In your project Venetian Solitude,
exhibited in Venice, you touch on
themes of isolation and belonging. How
did the setting of Venice influence this
series?
Truly, Venice for me was a completely
transformative experience. I was studying
there at the Academy of Fine Arts in the middle
of the Covid-19 pandemic, making it only a city
of ghosts and memories. From a beloved
city known for its tourism to not a single soul in sight for months at a time. This really struck me, and I saw Venice
as something I believe no one will ever see again. This project yoùre referring to depicts the struggles I have
studying in a foreign country and how much I truly missed home.
What inspired you to combine generative art with traditional painting?
I am terribly grateful for so many opportunities that exist in the Romanian art scene, and that I can also create
them myself. This collaboration with the Painting Department from the National University of Arts G̀eorge Enescu is
very important to me because it impacts the view that students have of their art. Pushing boundaries and creating
new perspectives is the core of visual art, and by doing this, we challenge concepts, ideas, people, etc.
What unique insights have international showcases provided regarding cultural perception?
What I can say for certain is that every city and country may have different aspirations, cultures, and perspectives,
but what ties us together in the end is the inspiration. As different and unique art scenes are, the human race
bonds with understanding each other, with empathy. What we are looking for in a successful exhibition is not only
the cultural impact or the identity it forms, but also forming a connection with a piece of art.
Your solo exhibition Behind the Curtain suggests an exploration of what lies beneath the surface.
Could you tell us more about the themes in this series and how they relate to you?
My first ever solo exhibition, B̀ehind the curtaiǹ, is an exploration of the sketches and work behind a single artwork.
Thus, by understanding what lies beneath, the spectator can understand the process of art, the study, and the
knowledge that goes behind it. I was still in university when I had this idea, a rather simple concept.

55 Borderline - Watercolor on paper, 15x10cm, 2021

Miriam Habibe
Miriam Habibe’s work is a bold exploration of collage, textile, and mixed-media art, blending materials in
unconventional ways to push the boundaries of traditional weaving. She transforms weaving it into a fine
art medium, incorporating canvas, painted fused glass, fibres, and organic materials, and digital art to
create works that challenge expectations. Her approach rejects rigid rules, embracing the idea that art
flows freely, shaped by intuition rather than fixed structures. By combining glass—typically a delicate,
controlled medium—with the organic, flexible nature of textiles, she creates unexpected textures and
dialogues between hard and soft materials. This interplay mirrors her belief that art exists between
contrasts—between control and spontaneity, tradition and innovation, spirituality, nature, and self-
expression. Miriam’s work is a testament to breaking creative limitations and redefining what contemporary
mixed media textile art can be.
Miriam Habibe is an emerging Welsh-based artist of BAME South Asian heritage whose creative journey
embodies resilience, identity, and self-discovery. After years devoted to parenthood and a full-time career,
she has returned to her artistic roots, crafting deeply expressive works that bridge tradition and modern
experimentation. Drawing inspiration from craft forms like weaving, she merges abstraction and mixed
media techniques, forging an artistic voice that is uniquely hers. A defining aspect of Miriam’s practice is
the Japanese SAORI weaving philosophy, which celebrates intuitive creativity and unfiltered self-expression.
This approach aligns with her personal journey and her longstanding practice of Japanese Buddhism,
reinforcing the connection between inner transformation and artistic exploration. Miriam's materials range
from fibres, painted glass, and digital mediums, reflecting her belief in the dialogue between the external
world and personal experience.
She carries The World - Digital Art, 60x80cm framed, 2025

56
Flesh and Code
Digital Art,
70x40cm, 2025
Your journey back into art after years of parenthood and a full-time career is incredibly inspiring.
What prompted you to return to your creative roots, and how has this life experience shaped your
current artistic voice?
Returning to art felt like coming home after a long, rich detour. Motherhood and a demanding career taught me to
value presence, resilience, and the quiet power of making. These years gave my work a deeper emotional register—
less about mastery, more about honesty. My voice now carries the weight of lived life, not just creative instinct.
You merge traditional craft techniques like weaving with mixed media and abstraction. How do you
see the relationship between tradition and experimentation in your work?
For me, tradition is a thread I hold in one hand while the other experiments freely. The rhythmic practice of
weaving connects me to ancestral knowledge, while mixed media allows that connection to evolve. I see them not
as opposites but dance partners—each offering stability or surprise when needed. It's a kind of temporal
collaboration.
Can you talk about the interplay between your personal spiritual practice—Japanese Buddhism—
and your creative process? In what ways do they inform each other?
My spiritual practice informs everything: the pace I create at, the attention I give each piece, the embrace of
impermanence. I approach my work as a meditation—every mark, every layer is part of my spiritual breath.
Creating becomes a form of devotion, a way to honour both the material world and its ephemerality. They nourish
each other endlessly.
You work with a range of materials, from fibres and painted glass to digital media. What draws you
to such diverse mediums, and how do you decide which to use in a given piece?
I’m drawn to materials that speak to the senses and to memory. Glass refracts light like nostalgia, fibres carry the
warmth of skin, and digital media holds the now. I let the idea lead—sometimes it asks for translucence,
sometimes for texture. Each piece chooses its own voice.
Weaving plays a significant conceptual and literal role in your art. What symbolic or emotional
meanings does weaving hold for you, especially in relation to identity and memory?
Weaving is both metaphor and muscle memory for me. It reflects how identity is built strand by strand, across time
and contradiction. There's comfort in its repetition, but also a fierce freedom in disrupting it. It allows me to embed
personal and ancestral stories into structure.
As a Welsh-based artist of South Asian heritage, how do cultural intersections influence your work?
Do you find your art navigates or challenges cultural expectations in any way?
Living between cultures has made me fluent in nuance. My work often lives in the tension between visibility and
erasure, ornament and minimalism, reverence and rebellion. I don't just reflect my heritage—I reimagine it- into
diverse new mediums in to which to express. It’s a gentle resistance to not be put in a box, created with a desire to
make connections.
Themes of resilience, transformation, and connection run through your work. Are there particular
moments or memories in your life that act as anchors or touchstones for your creative output?
Losing my mother young left a silence I’ve carried into every area of life and my work. That absence taught me to
become my own sanctuary—resilient, attentive, and grounded in the present. My practice of Japanese Buddhism
became an anchor, offering me possibility of human elevation, and a way to honour the impermanence of Life. In
drawing from these experiences with a mindfulness, each piece becomes a homecoming I’ve created for myself.
You’ve exhibited in a range of high-profile shows—from Manchester Art Fair to CasildArt Gallery.
How have these experiences shaped your understanding of your place in the contemporary art
world?
Exhibiting in larger spaces has widened my sense of community and affirmed that my quieter narratives have
resonance. It's also helped me trust my instincts more—not bend to trends but stay rooted. I see the art world as a
constellation, and I’m content being one steady star among many. It's about connection, not hierarchy.

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Winter Issue| Seasonal Edition | volume 87 | Collect Art | Tbilisi, Georgia