As much as I wouldn’t like to was born from a childhood memory of my parents covering my eyes during explicit scenes in movies. This started a period of research into the normalisation, and sexualisation of violence against women in media and pop culture where the dominant, aggressive male is romanticised, and male sexual desire is prioritised 😠😠😠
This project consists of paintings, drawings, and soft sculptures that focus on unwanted interactions that come from a place of unjust entitlement and desire. Interactions that embody starkly opposing emotions. The work is deceptively playful, and the figures are direct depictions of moments of unwelcome touch. These moments lure the viewer, using colours and textures that seduce and tempt whilst simultaneously contradicting their appearance with the narrative they create.







I am a visual artist working across a variety of textile processes. My practice looks at the intricacies and nuances of relationships and how our environments shape our interactions and treatments of each other. I examine emotions that come into existence in the space between two people: love, lust, desire, attachment, hatred and betrayal. My research is practice led, with materials and processes often informing the work, alongside archival and contemporary pop-culture visuals. Through soft sculpture processes such as sewing, tufting, embroidery, appliqué and felting, I look for the place between opposites where there is conflict or harmony. I use bright colours, a variety of textures, striking patterns and bold shapes to evoke a feeling of play and create vibrant commentaries on relationships and the spaces in which they exist. :))))
email: orlamkelly22@gmail.com