Delving into the anxieties of modern relationships, Evans’ latest body of work blurs the lines between courtship, rejection, and obsession. Shadowy figures and peeping silhouettes interrupt the stillness of domesticity, and facial features, a reassuring reference point, are removed or obscured: characters are unreadable, their motives unknown. Viewers are left questioning whether the paintings capture a blossoming love or something entirely more sinister.
Exploring elements of the uncanny, Evans invokes the Lynchian double by way of mirrored ambiguous figures, and goes a step further, extending this doubling to the domestic space. Reading the home as a metaphorical ‘self’, permeable boundaries of hedges, doors, and blinds symbolise equally permeable psychological states: characters are vulnerable to external influences, literally and figuratively.
From the pure white lily of the Annunciation to Socrates' poisonous hemlock, botanical symbolism is an enduring theme in historical storytelling. Evans plucks floral references from across centuries, spanning Greek mythology and Renaissance nuptial portraiture to David Lynch's neo-noir Blue Velvet (1986). Whether revealing virtuous characteristics, signalling a sitter’s status, or foreshadowing events, Evans exploits the often contradictory meanings of botanicals to further blur the boundary between courtship and obsession.
Gwen Evans (b. 1996, Bodelwyddan, Wales) lives and works in Manchester. A graduate of Manchester School of Art (2018), her most recent solo presentation ‘TRYST’ marked the inaugural exhibition at William Hine Gallery, London. Her work was also the subject of a solo institutional display, ‘Cipher’ at HOME, Manchester in 2023, following being awarded the Granada Foundation Gallery prize.
Selected exhibitions include: More News About Flowers, Division of Labour, Manchester (2024); Manifestations, Pink, Manchester (2024); CIPHER, HOME, Manchester [solo] (2023); Bankley Exchanges, Bankley Gallery, Manchester (2023); Manchester Open, HOME, Manchester (2022); Open, The Royal Cambrian Academy, Conwy, Wales (2021); Talking Sense, Portico Library, Manchester (2020); Upside Down Bucket, OA Studios, Salford (2019); Twice As Nice, Ps Mirabel, Manchester (2018).