Eilish Dwyer 

Eilish Dwyer finished her Bachelor of Fine Arts (Massey University - Wellington) with an unbelievably daring and provocative installation. Self-referential by nature, this young female artist is not shy of pointing fingers. But she does it in style and with great conceptual poignancy. Connecting different sculptural objects to her installation which contextualises her problems with mental health, Eilish loves to leave traces behind.

 

When being confronted with her stark, harsh and degendering paintings you can guess that there is more to the painted objects and whether or not imaginary personas than you can imagine. All of them are snippets of a bigger picture, intentionally untold stories which keep you guessing. For me, the paintings are magical realism in millennial form. She uses aspects of reality as a means of liberalization and improving the world. She certainly does not shy away from themes like ecology, gender neutrality and feminism. Thereafter Dwyer integrates funky and contrasting color schemes and places the everyday in a new way.

 

For years to come, Eilish will  most certainly be an important force as she succeeds in capturing an entire generation’s spirit, one of melancholy, anger and even nihilism in the face of smart phone's  extravaganza, climate change and constant injustice against minorities and women. Her art works as a catalyst, an intellectual instrument, probing basic and “natural” assumptions, providing a paradigm for other kinds of internal and societal questions.

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Now look at her paintings and make up your own story...