The lost object of love

The Lost Object of Love is a project that has at its heart, loss and identity. The loss of a child as she physically changes whilst growing up has prompted an enquiry into ways of drawing and painting that deal with loss and transient identity. Photographs inspire my images as other painters have also, since its invention, used photographs. Portraiture in both photography and painting has significantly changed in the eras of pre and post Cubism, both pictorially and conceptually. One of the main components of naturalistic portraiture is its ability to define a subject. This can be difficult when trying to explore complex identity through mimetic representation. Photography has become very close to painting in its ability as a medium to produce powerful, evocative art. However, I have sought to define what is still different between painting and photography and conclude that touch can return corporeality to an image that photography has made absent. In order to both protect my daughter's privacy and to afford greater imaginative input; masks, performance, and painting techniques have all been explored. A series of watercolour drawings and paintings have been made in which the child stereotype has been challenged. I have included a discussion on representation and power, especially pertaining to mothers as artists and their responsibilities towards their own child subjects.