New work
This work was inspired by a painting of the same name painted by a famous Bristolian forger of Thomas Gainsborough paintings; Thomas Barker of Bath.
This artist was a remarkable forger of a great painter, but never achieved acclaim in his own right. I related to this idea of feeling like a fraud or having ‘imposter syndrome’, which I think all artists carry. In his painting, he sits in front of the canvas with his tutor (his preceptor) standing over him. I decided to use this painting as a basis for a personal work, reflecting on my own experience as an artist in relation to my family and upbringing.
In my image, my Mother stands over me watching – waiting for the work to reveal itself. Being watched by her, my canvas is now bare. An Islamic symbol sits above us, almost separates us. This is a meditation on the role of the artist and the potential for family issues surrounding making such personal artwork in my career, it is a reflective painting.
