Bio

Born in London in 1987 and brought up in Oxfordshire, Baba completed an Art Foundation at Liverpool Community College before gaining a First Class BA (Hons) degree in Fine Art Painting from the University of Brighton. During her degree course she also studied painting in Japan for four months. Currently living and work in Bristol, she is a studio holder at Spike Island.

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Statement

'Through invention, colour and mark-making, I am interested n creating tension between playfulness and melancholy.

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My paintings comprise spaces alluding to such things as the weather and time of the day. The spaces can involve motifs that reference nature, for example, clouds, trees and cacti. Sometimes characters appear, inspired by ancient dolls and contemporary animation from my japanese heritage. These subjects are not specifically symbolic; I am interested in how in just a few marks they become recognisable. One can relate to them or be reminded of oneself, and so ultimately empathise with the painting.

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In working towards this show, I have been focusing on certain elements of my work and in turn expanding them. This process has led to outcomes where the characters are not always neccesary, or are perhaps more ambiguous. Sometimes the motifs themselves can become characters. The small works are like drawings, just one thought, evolving onto large canvases and becoming many. This has created a new relationship in my work between the dramatic and the intimate'

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Noe Baba.