artist profile

Lewis Saunders

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About the artist

To me, my work is like a scrapbook or rather a visual exploration of my dreams, real life experiences, actual and hypothetical scenarios, and a way to document or express my thoughts however poignant or insignificant. My work tackles issues that affect us all such as relationships, lifestyle and life and death, but primarily is a way for me to express how I feel and how I perceive myself.

I have a fairly flexible approach to my work as I like the image to be multifaceted and the narrative to be open to interpretation. Initially I begin by considering what relevance an image I have found, documented or created has to me. This could either be instantly obvious, contextual, or could, with time, become relevant simply because it is irrelevant. I then introduce more visual elements and create layer composites, which lead to a basic composition that I then manipulate to achieve the right aesthetic for the subject.

Provocative images of women occur frequently in my work and for a number of reasons. The first being that the female body is portrayed as being far more sensitive, expressive and suggestive than the male body and certainly in the eyes of society, more acceptably viewed. Therefore their inclusion in my work is representational of my feelings and emotions.

Secondly, in terms of society, it has become commonplace and certainly to some extent acceptable for women to be exploited as a means to make money. Whether it is to sell Cosmetics, the latest fashion or even something as far removed as a 40” Plasma Screen TV, the evocative nature of the female form subliminally generates a need for association and connection within our own lives. However, these images arguably play an important part as they represent and control what we are, what we could be and what we want to be.

By applying this logic to my own work I am effectively transforming my subject matter into a highly desirable product that encourages association and connection by the viewer in the same way as an advertisement.

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