InkyBelle (2024)

10/11/2023

The Sacrificial Lamb 🐑🗡️

31/10/2023

Happy Halloween or Samhain to those who celebrate! Here is a new flash to celebrate the season 🦇🔮🕷️🕸️

02/10/2023

More digital designs today

20/09/2023

feet - part of the arduous process of making “body” casted using alginate, plaster and silicone to create the final wax form.

20/09/2023

Freehand tattoo designs on I was on a plane and didn’t have access to my pens or sketchbook so I thought I’d try something new, I absolutely hate working digitally and I hate colour AND working without a reference so this was super out of my comfort zone but I love the way it came out

14/08/2023

Sacred Heart 🫀From a collection of votive objects in the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford.

28/07/2023

hands - part of my process for making “body” 2023

16/06/2023

"Body" 2023, wax, fabric, synthetic hair

This work explores the abject nature of the uncanny by evoking a visceral, uncomfortable emotion in the viewer, reminiscent of the feeling that arises when encountering a blood or vomit. Its primary intention is to challenge the audience’s perception of life itself.
The title of the piece bears a suggestive duality, encompassing both the human form and the connotation of a lifeless co**se. It invites contemplation on the relationship between the physicality of the human body and the potential implications of its mortality. By evoking these ideas, the artwork prompts reflection on the fragility and impermanence existence, inviting viewers to investigate profound questions surrounding life, death and mortality.

15/06/2023

"The Pierced Heart", 2023, plaster, metal nails

This piece represents betrayal, pain and loss, originally, I planned to break the hearts as a literal metaphor for heartbreak and grief, but I decided to use pins instead, alluding to the immaculate heart in Religion and the Witch's Pierced heart in folklore. Here I used pins to represent suffering, yet the fragile plaster heart remains unbroken, withstanding the adversity.
The term “Witch” has a longstanding history of being used to condemn disobedient or powerful women who pose a threat to the societal order, although there has been a move to reclaim the term and reinvest it with more positive connotations. Historically pierced hearts have been used as counter magic against witchcraft, an animal heart pierced with 9 pins was said to lift curses and exorcise or kill the witch who administered them.
I took inspirational from religious votive offerings, which are small talismans, often anatomical depictions of an area of ailment which were left at alters in the hopes of a miraculous healing from a god. I was particularly drawn to images of the heart, often represented as the sacred heart, prominent symbol in Catholicism, representing the sacrifice of Christ or the Immaculate Heart, which symbolises the purity of Mary. Much like the pierced heart, the immaculate heart is depicted pierced with sword or wounds, which represent her sorrows.

15/06/2023

Smith. A and Duncan E, Insatiable, 2023, Digital Photographs

This artwork employs the concept of abjection to confront and challenge traditional ideals of femininity. It chooses to embrace the messy and grotesque aspects of the feminine experience, aiming to dismantle harmful; societal expectations imposed upon women. By reclaiming and celebrating feminine monstrosity, the artwork empowers individuals to embrace their authentic selves, free from the constraints of societal norms. It invites viewer to revaluate and expand their understanding of femininity by embracing the vulgar, impure, and monstrous.

The work examines the societal dynamics in which women are traditionally expected to take on the majority of cooking responsibilities, while simultaneously facing pressure from the diet industry to restrict their food intake, resulting in the demonisation of food itself and leading to body issues. By intertwining elements of film and art, the artwork invites viewers to reflect on the ways in which food and femininity are intertwined in cultural narratives. It challenges the objectification and commodification of women's bodies, highlighting the contradictory expectations placed upon them in relation to food. By reclaiming the gallery space, the artwork asserts the importance of elevating women's perspectives and stories, providing a platform for redefining and challenging societal norms surrounding women, food, and self-expression.