CuratorSpace Artist Bursary #17: Lou Blakeway

Lou Blakeway focuses predominantly on figurative work, incorporating drawing, painting and printmaking. My work, whilst figurative, is also concerned with facture, colour, space and form. I am currently making work that questions conceived ideas of Motherhood and Femininity. These works will be exhibited at the Fitzrovia Gallery, London in November with my fellow cohorts from last year’s Turps Banana Correspondence Course.

"We are constantly fed images and idealised notions of 'Mother' that are often false and unrealistic. Beginning with Mary, the virgin, the ultimate mother: untouched, unsullied, perfect. Written into history as the epitome of motherhood, no wonder we are all doomed to fail as mothers. I believe I am an artist essentially because of the trauma I experienced as a child and adult, particularly at the hands of my mother. To draw, paint and stick things in my scrapbook was my escape: my voice when I had none.

It seems that most artists have experienced childhood trauma in some form or have become abusive or neglectful parents themselves. It comes out in myriad ways in their work, either explicitly through subject matter or implicitly through means of production and success. I am also curious about how artist mothers have struggled to negotiate their careers and at whose expense and whether in the end, it was worth it. Through this new series of work, I aim to explore the imagery, materials, and language to articulate the subject of Motherhood in all its guises, to make work that has both agency and emotional resonance to become a healing process for both the artist and the viewer."

You can see more of Lou's works on Instagram.

 

More news