Kirsty Kilbane

b. 1986, Ireland

My work articulates emotions and ideologies related to the figure. The work is voyeuristic. I find the human body curious and in a constant state of metamorphosis. I aim to entice and engage the viewer, challenging them to pursue comprehension of sexuality and human sensuality arising out of the exaggerated figures and poses. Fat, luscious strokes of fragmented figural representation within surging compositions aspire to capture perceptual experiences while aiming to make work that asserts in its status as ‘painting’. The physical presence of my work is about strength and interaction with the spectator.

The central element of the work consists of a substantial number of drawings and paintings that embody the feeling of the uncanny through their scale and use of colour, form and material. Narrative is almost too strong a word to describe circumstances transpiring in the paintings; the bodies are not caught in any particular sequence of events that can be recognised. Interest lies in the simplest movement of the body, antecedent to gender and prior to speech – a slight turning of the head, a movement of an arm across the body or face, an indication of instability where the figure falls or tumbles towards the spectator. In confronting these gestures, the onlooker becomes distinctly aware of the body’s presence.

(Text: e v+ a – matters catalogue, 2010)