rug, flap, stuck

Her paintings are in high colour, with flattened skin tones contrasting with areas of pattern which stylistically provide a sense of claustrophobia, an intensity and shift in the ‘normal’ scale of things. The source for her imagery are the threads of family life; domestic scenarios including constant observations of her children in all scenarios. However, what sets them apart is the presence of the Mother’s viewpoint, providing a challenging sub-text running throughout the work. These are not ordinary portraits or figurative compositions; underneath the witnessed moment; a snapshot of childhood, with its associative assumed references of freedom from the world of adult responsibility, is there as a constant threat. Blackwell’s paintings challenge convention on many levels: that of the license to represent images of children, which in today’s world are strictly within the regulated area of parental consent, but often flaunted as daily snapshots via social media for all known and unknown viewers to see.