2014/15 series "killing time" #1–7

My artwork is always inspired by stories. Our daily flood of world-wide events offers many, but sometimes one story touches you more than the others; it warms or breaks your heart and does not let you move on swiftly, then it has become personal.

This is when I start painting. The process begins in my head, where the setting is fully determined. I hold on to this moment of attention, this disrupting factor that briefly touches our lives before we re-focus on ourselves or are distracted by the next event. Taking this story, and sometimes including iconic elements from these public images and events, I blend them with my personal ones to a new composition. The protagonists stay with me during the full process. They may appear only as a side event, or are merely reflected and hinted at within the setting.

My paintings do not make a final judgement, despite having a critical edge; there is never only one truth, one story, one perspective. They merely observe and reflect on these events, as such providing a mirror to society. They are silent tributes and very private insights that invite the viewer to make their own personal story appear. Capturing these stories and figures on canvas is my way to preserve their dignity before they are drowned in the flood.

ianessa norris, april 2015