Samantha Wilson

Samantha Wilson


I am currently entering my fourth year at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, after completing a Drawing and Painting focused exchange program at OCAD University in Toronto.

During my time in Toronto I began a body of work consisting of large charcoal drawings, my source material being largely derived from photographs. The purpose of these works became really an exploration of line and surface. What the image felt like to me on the paper, rather than trying to depict exactly what I saw in my source material. It was about working an image until it was interesting and stimulating enough to look at, deliberating what to leave in and what to take out.

This year, building on what I developed in Toronto I have introduced painting into my practice. Continuing to work with photographs, my source material has focused increasingly on historical images. I'm fascinated by their melancholic energy. It's inspiring for me because I want to create works that have somewhat of a "terrible beauty". I'm interested in works that can unsettle the viewer or have a powerful impact yet doesn't horrify.

By starting with an image that I can emotionally engage with, I then juxtapose areas of detail like the face or hands with contemporary images. That way the work can never be a simple reproduction of a photograph, but something completely new.

This process is enjoyable and allows me to answer questions of what I'm trying to create along the way.