Lily O’Connell
I’m Lily and I create to cope. My practice is essentially an art of survival. Suffering chronic illnesses from a young age, I’ve learnt to rely on creating as a way of expressing the complex emotions and hardships that life throws at me.
The slow process of oil painting allows me time to contemplate my emotions and understand myself better. Creating gives me a chance to communicate my complex life and emotions. This communication with an audience is very important because I don’t have the time or energy to complain or explain my unique lived experience when I’m just trying to cope.
Creating is not only cathartic but also gives me a sense of control and a feeling of capability that I often lack with my body. During the pandemic, maintaining control over something like my art practice was particularly useful in preserving my sanity when the state of the world felt too chaotic, overwhelming and completely out of my control.
The figures in my work portray my own personal experiences and feelings of frustration, pain, loss of identity, perception, isolation, judgment and guilt. In addition to portraying emotional struggle, my work also aims to convey resilience and strength in the face of hardship, and by acknowledging resilience to promote more understanding and empathy in society.
Solitary Struggle Series #1, 2020
Oil on canvas
600mm x 500mm x 20mm
Solitary Struggle Series #2, 2020
Oil on canvas
600mm x 500mm x 20mm
Solitary Struggle Series #3, 2020
Oil on canvas
600mm x 500mm x 20mm
Solitary Struggle Series #4, 2020
Oil on canvas
600mm x 500mm x 20mm