Jamiee Elias and Lee Kay-Barry

Jamiee Elias and Lee Kay-Barry

Reception: Friday 23rd November 7 – 9pm

C4RD is pleased to present works by contemporary figurative artists Jamiee Elias and Lee Kay-Barry

Elias uses mixed media to create a both portraits of societal issues and of self exploration. Feminist exploration underscores her use of figurative images; her dark or bold colours and use of text is dependent on contingencies message and mood at the images creation whilst maintaining a gentleness within the drawing style. In this particular group of drawings Elias uses art as a way to navigate an underlying feeling of oppression common to women across the world –yet the drawings display a purposely childlike trait that connects with a feeling of freedom. This personal collection seeks a feeling of freedom that allows the viewer to be simultaneously settled and unsettled by the image.

“The ones featuring women came about because I have always found the female body beautiful, but I decided to do more unrealistic versions, as I now realise how physical beauty doesn’t reflect inside beauty.. I created most of them when I have been my happiest and my mental health has been at a high as well, which influences my creativity and motivation I think that is also why I have been experimenting with brighter colours as well” JE

Lee Kay-Barry says of his own work :
“Companionship is an integral theme in my work as I am fascinated by how our bodies interact, transition and turn with each other in the space around us. The notion of spontaneity excites me; moments can be lost in an instant.
Although my work is not factual, it aims to seek a higher truth in the human condition, as there are no boundaries to surface, shape or form and leans on the side of absurdity. The subjects and environments in my paintings are often dictated and influenced by physical domestic settings and themes, which lets me draw upon a sense of vulnerability and comfort from the subject and/or object and allows me to extract a more honest representation. I treat my work as an ongoing series of autobiographical documents that share moments which can be lost or forgotten in time. I aim to create a sense of continuity of action through abstraction and I feel impelled to capture the fluidity of life, as after all it is a brief light that burns bright and quick.”

This exhibition is curated by C4RD’s Emily Pantling