A qualified veterinary surgeon who works in science and technology, Honoria Brown came to painting relatively late, finding her characteristically surreal aesthetic within the last five years.
“Most of my paintings are inspired by dreams and nightmares”, she explains. “I find painting is the only way I can transcribe them.”
Her new collection Thirteen Nightmares will be shown within the eerie confines of The Crypt at The Mount Without for three weeks, from January 8.
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It chronicles the patchwork of forms arising from lucid dreaming, “born”, she recounts, “as a frantic, expressionist sketch”, and then layered up with paint, giving rise to abstract but evocative pictures in the viewer’s mind.
“This slow, iterative process is akin to awakening for a second time”, she says, “initially taking inspiration from random imperfections to inspire form and depth, and becoming increasingly conscious with the emergence of fine detail.”
For Brown, as her paintings come to life, they take on “a confusing logic”, drawing the beholder into what she calls “an unsettling sense of recognition”. She poses the question: “what will they invoke for you?”
Thirteen Nightmares: A solo exhibition by Honoria Brown is at The Mount Without on January 7-February 1, with a free launch event on January 7 at 5-10pm; then daily openings from 11am-6pm. Visit www.headfirstbristol.co.uk for more information, and follow the artist @honoriabrown.
All photos: Honoria Brown (main image: from ‘The Supervision’)
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