Alice McMurrough PAI RGI RSW

In my artwork, I create connections. I use distortion, metaphor and symbolism, in a context free from chronological time and precise place.

I intertwine memories of personal events with contemporary issues, family legends, cultural myths and religious fables. Objects, colour and scale are employed for symbolic reasons. I often find archetypes in old children’s books, toys and television programmes. I aim for an attention that children have for the world, before ritual and maturity strips life of its daily magic.

The resulting images display theatrical characters on stage-like sets, inviting open narratives and subjective interpretations. Unlike nineteenth century Tableaux Vivants, my work revels in the absence of an authoritative reading.  I invite the viewer to engage with the paintings and derive their own interpretation.