Beatrice Dahllof
My studio practice is focused on figurative painting.
I have an interest in portraying human nature and the use of traditional narrative to create works that explore ideas of folk lore, ritual, memory and spectacle.
COVID-19 has had a significant impact on every part of my work; subject, story and scale. During isolation my main theme has been myself; all works are self portraits as I had no other sitters. It began as a way to enjoy myself, dressing up and posing, but quickly became a way to express how I was feeling in isolation. It has been a time of many difficulties; apart from the obvious threat of COVID-19, my mother had an ankle reconstruction, my 18 year old dog who had been my life long companion died, and barely speaking English at home making it challenging when I did have to leave the house.
Isolation also turned all of this semester’s work into a series I was not aware of until I had finished: the subject always faces the same way, there is always some kind of vase or flora on the right-hand side, and always in the same pattern. In trying to escape my home to find something different, I accidentally made an allegory of my surroundings, repeatedly.
I have been many people throughout this time; Polish Saints, heroines, folklore creatures, bored creations I thought of while lying in bed, but perhaps most importantly I have been myself.
Self Portrait as a Bride, 2020
Oil on canvas
430mm x 600mm
Do Domu, 2020
Oil on canvas
500mm x 500mm
Self Portrait with Red Hand and Dog, 2020
Oil on canvas
600mm x 400mm
Friday Afternoon, Eating, 2020
Oil on canvas
500mm x 500mm
Western District Dogs, 2020
Oil on unprimed canvas
500mm x 450mm
Vox Celmatis in Deserto, 2020
Oil on canvas
460mm x 350mm
Mazeppa, 2020
Oil and gold leaf on canvas
600mm x 450mm