Rosalynd Aranel Byass Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom
Rosalynd Byass is a modern surrealist born in South Shields, England working primarily in oils. She aims to visualise her mental reality with a focus on her experience with her mental health day-to-day, which includes anxiety, depression, OCD and PTSD, creating surreal narratives with her own library of imagery.
I specialise in making oil paintings of female forms isolated in surreal landscapes that reflect my mental and physical health. I have always found my brain hard to understand, as well as articulate what I am thinking and feeling, and so my paintings say what I cannot. I draw, usually using pen and ink, images that come from my unconscious mind and ask myself why I have drawn them. These drawings can then become a painting where my unconscious continuously plays a role in its development. I paint with precision so my paintings feel like looking into a window to my brain. I want viewers to not only come away reflecting on themselves and their lives, but opening their mind to the struggles of others as well.
EDUCATION: Newcastle College, Bachelor of Fine Arts, 2022 Newcastle College, Foundation Diploma in Art & Design, 2019
SOLO EXHIBITIONS: 2026: 'I Didn’t Think I Could Go On Without You', Newcastle College Mandela Building, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS: 2025: 'EROS', Pineapple Art Gallery, Middlesborough, England 2024: 'THE BIZARRE', Fox Yard Studio, Stowmarket, England 2024: 'White Hole', Ex-Libris Gallery, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England 2022: 'Fine Art BA HONS Final Exhibition', Assembly House, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England 2021: 'Baltic Open Submission', Baltic Centre For Contemporary Art, Gateshead, England
AWARDS: 2022: Visual Artists Association International Exhibition and Scholarship Prize Shortlist
Artwork
Unconscious Drawing II, Pen on paper, 2026, £30
Unconscious Drawing I, Ink on paper, 2026, £30
I Feel So Useless, Pen on paper, 2025, £30
A World Inside, Pen on paper, 2025, £30
It Comes Out of the Healing Wound I, Pen and acrylic on paper, 2026, £30
What Now?, Pen on paper, 2025, £30
My Body, Ink, pen and acrylic on paper, 2026, £30
Self Judgement, Ink on paper, 2026, £30
Just Leave Me Be, Ink and pen on paper, 2026, £30
After My First Colposcopy Test, Ink and pen on paper, 2026, £30
Throbbing and Burning, I Move Forward, Oil paint on canvas, 2025, £480
Dreaming of Corpses in Tight Spaces, Oil on canvas, 2024, £400
What would you do if I said I hate you?, Oil on canvas, 2024, £800
The Abstract Concept of You, Oil on canvas, 2024, £1000
National Treasure, Oil on canvas, 2023, £400
I Will Never Be Without You, Oil on canvas, 2021
The Body of Someone Who Was Hurt I, Oil on canvas, 2023, £240
The Body of Someone Who Was Hurt II, Oil on canvas, 2023, £50
AB AETERNO, Oil on canvas, 2023, £150
A version of me went with you, Oil on canvas, 2023, £150
The Prophecy, Oil on canvas, 2023, £750
Let Me Leave This Place, Oil on canvas, 2022, £560
The Lady Searching For Her Missing Right Arm I, Oil on canvas, 2022, £1340
The Lady Searching For Her Missing Right Arm II, Oil on canvas, 2022, £1030
The Soup of the Unconscious is Eaten by the Woman I Desire, Oil on canvas, 2022
This woman does not exist, Oil on canvas, 2021, £900
Weird and Ashamed I, Oil on canvas, 2020, £100
Weird and Ashamed II, Oil on canvas, 2020, £100
Weird and Ashamed III, Oil on canvas, 2020, £80
There is nothing there, Oil on canvas, 2024, £480
I wasn't myself when you were here, Oil on canvas, 2026
Corrosion of the Self [Series], Ink on paper, 2025, £30 per drawing
Am I Crazy?, Pen on paper, 2025
Projects and exhibitions
| Details | |||
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I Didn't Think I Could Go On Without You30/04/2026 — 07/05/2026 My first solo exhibition. My mam passed away on 27th February 2023, and it is the first major death I have experienced in my life. I was 23 at the time. My mam was so amazing, I'm so grateful to the universe for giving me a mam like her, and I honestly did not think I could ever live without her. But I did. This exhibition will be all about my... [Read more] |
Newcastle College Mandela Building, Newcastle Upon Tyne | Details |
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'EROS' Exhibition by OUTOUT as part of Middlesborough Pride27/09/2025 I advertised this exhibition on my socials: 'Come see an exclusive preview of my solo exhibition that will be happening in Newcastle next year at the “EROS” exhibition @pineappleblackarts on 27th September 2025!! I will be presenting art about my life after I lost my mam, showing my grieving process and changes in my life that have... [Read more] |
Pineapple Black Gallery, Middlesborough | Details |
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'SPIRALLING' Exhibition05/08/2024 — ongoing "This exhibition showcases a diverse array of surrealist artworks that challenge everyday perceptions and inspire imagination, taking you on an interesting yet sometimes unsettling visual adventure into the uncharted territories of creativity." - From the Phantasmal Gallery website. My piece "What would you do if I said I hate you?" is on... [Read more] |
https://www.phantasmalgallery.com/spiralling | Details |
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'THE BIZARRE' Exhibition19/07/2024 — 27/07/2024 Fox Yard Studio IG - "Featuring artists who push the boundaries of Contemporary art with thought-provoking works from different styles. The exhibition @foxyardstudio will showcase various paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographic and digital works. Come and delve into the works of THE BIZARRE to enjoy the peculiarities and vast expressions... [Read more] |
Fox Yard Studio, Stowmarket, Suffolk | Details |
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'Art As A Response to Mental Health' Doncaster Art Fair Online Exhibition & Competition03/06/2024 — 17/06/2024 An exhibition focussed on how mental health is explored in art. Hundreds of artists were exhibited, and there was a competition aspect. I submitted two artworks; "There is nothing there" - a piece about the conflict of anxiety and depression, and "Let Me Leave This Place" - a piece about OCD. |
https://www.instagram.com/p/C9cZ_h6Iv6_/ | Details |
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WHITE HOLE Exhibition13/02/2024 — 16/02/2024 Organised by the BFREAK PROJECT, a group of creatives of different disciplines came together to demonstrate the power of creativity. |
Ex-Libris Gallery, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne | Details |
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Visual Artists Association International Exhibition and Scholarship Prize 202415/01/2024 — 08/02/2024 This prize is annual, and I was shortlisted with my piece "This woman does not exist". I was one of 30 artists chosen. |
https://visual-artists.org/vaa-scholarshipexhibition-shortlist/ | Details |
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Album Cover for Mr B. The Gentleman Rhymer, "National Treasure"01/05/2023 — 08/09/2023 A commissioned piece for Mr. B. the Gentleman Rhymer's album, "National Treasure". It is a portrait of him with imagery inspired by the themes within the songs and his persona coming from his head and swirling around him. It is 51 x 51 cm and was £400. |
https://www.instagram.com/p/CzOa60DCv18/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== | Details |
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Supporting Arts Exhibition | 202201/09/2022 — 30/09/2022 I exhibited my piece "The Soup of the Unconscious is Eaten by the Woman I Desire" as a part of the Supporting Arts "2022" exhibition, which was an annual exhibition created as a way to support artists through/after the pandemic. |
IG: supportingarts_ | Details |
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Fine Art BA HONS Year 3 Degree Show10/06/2022 — 15/06/2022 This was the final exhibition of my degree. I displayed various pieces from my portfolio together, the central piece being my self-portrait "The Soup of the Unconscious is Eaten by the Woman I Desire". For me, it represented how far I had come despite the struggle of the pandemic. |
Assembly House, Newcastle Upon Tyne | Details |
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Open Studios 12 | Fine Art Degree Show Year 209/07/2021 — 12/07/2021 The final exhibition of the second year of my Fine Art BA HONS degree. I exhibited my piece "This woman does not exist", which was my final piece of Year 2. |
IG: fineart_ncuc | Details |
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Baltic Open Submission 202119/05/2021 — 05/09/2021 Over 150 North East artists exhibited together as part of this exhibition. I submitted one of my older pieces "The Valley of the Untouchable Fantasies" (2020, Oil on canvas). |
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead | Details |
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New Myths | Fine Art Degree Exhibition Year 231/03/2021 — 10/04/2021 An online exhibition to show the work we had created so far in our second year. I exhibited "Weird and Ashamed I, II & III", a piece I made at the end of 2020. |
IG: fineart_ncuc | Details |
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Relations and Reflections | Fine Art Degree Year 225/03/2021 — 17/04/2021 Everyone from my fine art cohort created a piece under the theme of "Family", a theme poignant because of the pandemic. I created a piece about myself and my twin brother, "I Will Never Be Without You". |
vane.org.uk | Details |
Open Studios 11 | Fine Art Degree Year 101/12/2019 — 20/12/2019 An exhibition to display the work of myself and my peers that we had created in Year 1. |
Mandela Building, Rye Hill Campus, Newcastle College, Newcastle Upon Tyne | Details | |
UAL/Newcastle College Foundation Diploma in Art & Design Final Exhibition01/06/2019 — 15/06/2019 The final exhibition of my Foundation Degree in Art & Design. |
Mandela Building, Rye Hill Campus, Newcastle College, Newcastle Upon Tyne | Details | |
New Myths | Foundation Degree in Art & Design07/01/2019 — 14/01/2019 Exhibiting the work I created that year so far in my Foundation Degree in Art & Design. |
Assembly House, Newcastle Upon Tyne | Details |