Irene WELLM

Artist Statement

Painting for me is a way to tell a story. It provides a conversation with the unconscious and is a way to gain insight, a way to become civilised. I find most people aren't what they appear to be, myself included. We are ambiguous expressions of varying facts and fictions at different times, and as an artist I am interested in finding a way to express this about myself, and about people in general. The background to my work is inspired by a personal interest in depth psychology and Carl Jung's theories on the process of individuation. Recurring themes are searching, displacement and the idea of home, or belonging - where do I belong? So a painting may address this along the lines of being lost or displaced, or may express associations of where the feeling of belonging is met, or the search for such. The sense of a dreamscape is often in my work, and I try to extend that into the physical handling of the paint.

Art Forms