I cannot exist without you. I cannot exist with you. If I could swallow you whole. If I could become your lungs. I cannot hear you, I am breathing too loud. I cannot see you, but I know your lips are moving.

Marigold Campbell

My work examines the body’s ability to describe intimacy and discomfort, specifically how interpersonal relationships impact how the body occupies physical space. The work uses visceral depictions of the body to explore this relationship between ego and environment, and emotions such as anxiety, obsession, detachment, and pity. Highly autobiographical, my work is a record of the otherwise undisclosed conversations I have held with myself. In these confidential scenes which tap into moments of vulnerability, the viewer acts as a voyeur. Through exhibiting vulnerable moments, private is made public, and the unseen is made seen. It is a spectacle – a blunt, often grotesque exploration – of the dilemma of intimacy.

The large-scale nature of these works absorbs the viewer into the tense atmospheres, extracting a sense of discomfort. Gestural and fluid brushstrokes evoke the fleeting temporality of each moment, further emphasizing the candid quality of the works. I value process over product, fully immersing myself, fully drowning in the spaces and bodies I document. Creating my work is a meditation; as I devote time to the artistic process, I am forced to engage with what is most uncomfortable, and am allowed no shred of escapism.

My work is the dull ache in the pit of my stomach that I can’t get rid of. It is the need to pee when I am anxious. It is the uncertainty of saying “I love you” for the first time.