I have my first solo show in London at The Stone Space Gallery entitled emovere it will run from 13/3/25 until 6/4/25
Private View: Friday 14 March 18:30 - 20:30
Meet the artist: Saturday 15th March, Saturday 22nd March and Saturday 5th April 14:00 - 16:00
PRESS RELEASE
The Stone Space, 6 Church Lane, Leytonstone, London E11 1HG
Saturdays 10:00 - 16:00, Sundays 12:00 - 16:00
The word 'emotion' derives from the Latin 'emovere' (em-o-ver-eh) which means to stir or move the sentiments.
emovere is Victoria Sills’ first solo show and combines two bodies of work entitled a.i.feel and Masking. Both series have been created using deep learning models which generate images from text prompts.
The a.i.feel portraits aim to question our evolving relationship with artificial intelligence. The works are deliberately numbered so as not to humanise them. Sills hopes that the painterly texture and gestural marks convey more of a sense of human emotion and begin to create a relationship between the viewer and the ‘sitter’. Sills is interested in whether the viewer responds differently to the character in the painting after discovering it is AI or if the AI is becoming more of a sentient being in its own right.
The Masking series of paintings and drawings intend to explore feelings of isolation and anxiety. Through these works Sills examines the way in which we can often conceal our true emotions.
“The pictures that I paint or draw are in a way self-portraits and aim to channel a nostalgic glance into my own memories and emotions. I use AI to generate reference imagery that best represent my recollections and then transform these images into paintings, drawings and etchings. By painting or drawing from these AI generated images I attempt to inject more of a human touch, adding imperfections, inaccuracies and perhaps a little soul.”
The works in the Masking series are set in a non-specific 1970s/80s era where many neurodivergent conditions were undiagnosed. The paintings explore themes of masking as a female. Girls in particular often face pressure to hide or change their natural traits in order to fit in socially. Masking can help avoid bullying or judgement short-term, but has been shown to cause long-term harm to mental health. The painted masks and hats overtly symbolise this, with the lone central figure separate from the party, isolated in their own mind.
A girl is sat alone at a birthday party, the other guests participate in well-known party games, apparently having fun. Socially inept, another girl sits unaccompanied wearing a mask, does it help her conceal her true feelings and become someone else, someone that fits in?
