Artist Bio
Katharine Paisley (b. 1996) is an interdisciplinary Visual Artist from Co. Tyrone, who lives and works in Belfast. She is based at Flax Art Studios, Belfast. Katharine graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in 2018 with a BA Hons in Fine Art.
She works as a Gallery Assistant at The Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast and as an Outreach Artist. She is currently a British Council Venice Research Fellow 2022 and a committee member of Flax Emerging Artist Project Space.
Paisley primarily works in painting; however, she experiments with the addition of audio and video works- exploring how painting can exist beyond a 2D image. Katharine’s practice explores our human made world and the consequences of this. Within her work she explores themes that demand urgency, and which highlight a lack of control.
Her work has been shown in multiple group and solo shows nationally; and included in multiple publications. She has also been awarded funding from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.
.
Artist Statement
I create representational oil paintings, which are augmented by addition of audio and video works, exploring how painting can exist beyond a 2D image.
Drawing on the Anthropocene ( the proposed geological epoch defined by the undeniable and irreversible impact of human activity on the Earth’s biology) as my main subject, my works explore themes that demand urgency, that highlight a lack of control and that evoke a sense of inevitability; such as nuclear weapon launches and the passing of youth.
I am inspired by Dryden Goodwin’s piece ‘Wait’ (2000), in which he separates a moment into 3 parts: anticipation, realisation and aftermath. I aim to guide the viewer through the transition from anticipation to realisation, turn people out and away from Plato’s allegorical cave. I want to immerse the viewer in that ‘OH SHIT’ moment.
