Hope Turnbull

My practice consists of large scale portraits rich in colour and pattern. I like to play with the crucial point between reality and fiction so that a recognisable, comfortable environment shifts to a more dreamlike and eerie space. Too much of one and the painting becomes stagnant and overly representative and too much of the other the work appears self-conscious. The paintings are not literal or particularly descriptive but contain an element of human pathos. Visually, I communicate these themes through the blending of graphic and painterly techniques. I manipulate paint and charcoal to convey a degree of separation from reality. By conveying an uncanny, psychological reflection of domesticity, I aim for the viewer to either question the truth of the image or to just enjoy the subtle disconcerting domestic spaces.