Faculty of Art

Drawing and Painting

Hilary Miriam Whorms

Dignified Lady

This work is part of a series of small oil paintings on paper that depict softly rendered figures, sourced from five-generations of old family photographs.

“On the fragile surface of paper, I explore the ephemeral nature of the human experience through an introspective interpretation of captured moments. The figures represented are not meant to be a direct likeness, but instead defy the ubiquity of purely photographic imagery through visual techniques of obscurity. The perishable nature of the painted surface correlates to the delicate old family photographs I have collected. There is a sense of universality and ambiguity in images from this era, as if they could belong to anyone’s collection of family photos. I aim to create anonymous, intimate paintings that retrieve lost memories within translucent glazes and subtle forms, as ghostly figures [dis]appear and [re]emerge with vague familiarity.”