Laura Angell

Britain b. 1972

‘I want women to do as they wish, look how they wish and behave as they wish, as is the feminist raison d'etre, but I find that what I see makes me incredibly uncomfortable. It angers me and does not feel liberating in the least.’

Laura Angell’s work/obsession/raison d'etre is manifested via multidisciplinary installations using images and handmade objects (largely textile) to tell an intended narrative.

Her work focuses on failure, status, success, and anxiety;  exploring society’s psychological concerns and examining subject matter we may not want to talk about; secrets, lies, shame and fear. Describing herself as an emotional flasher, the essence of her work is the juxtaposition of darkness and humour she employs to navigate and dissect these emotive heavyweights. 

Previous work has taken on the forms of masks, containers and covers; pretty veneers covering heads and bodies that are bursting and racing with thoughts, worries and pressures as well as containers and sheet-like shrouds to keep things in as well as out.

In order to represent these conditions she doctors, interferes and intervenes; bringing the carefully selected images to a visual and tactile conclusion that is sometimes as intended and sometimes unexpected. Her working methods are labour intensive, compulsive, repetitive and obsessive. These methods can be likened to a coping mechanism. The process of making becomes as important as the work itself and is laced with repetition and recurrent symbols taking on myriad interpretations. Stitches are straight and controlled reflecting the compulsive nature of the artist and her practice. The produce is both the cause and the fruit of her compulsion. Laura Angell lives and works in Galway, Ireland


Work available by Laura Angell