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Artist Profile - Sharon Mosey

I'm an artist who makes work based on themes of death and religion.

While based on themes of death, my work is more easily read as a celebration of life, making use of bright colours, while questioning what may happen beyond.

History, mythology and religious symbolism all play a part to illustrate the concepts behind the work, which come from the burden of my own mortality and the struggle with my atheist beliefs.

I work in a variety of media, including painting, photography, sculpture and the use of found objects and textiles.

For me, the process is very much part of the work itself. This may involve destructive techniques, particularly in connection with my photographs.

The process of making a painting can be long and laborious, taking many hours of practice, to achieve the precision I want, before a brush ever touches the canvas.

My work draws upon various aspects of Greek myth.

The fishermen's hut in Lindos, Rhodes was both inaccessible and mysterious, hidden among the rocks.

The photograph of the coin is based on the mythical figure of Charon, the ferryman who carried the souls of the dead to the afterlife. To make the crossing, the deceased person had to pay a toll.

When making the print, the image was exposed twice, firstly with a piece of painted acetate with a name taken from the obituaries in the local newspaper scratched into it, and secondly with the image of the coin.

The image of the doll is based on ideas of loss and decay. The negatives became more scratched as the series progressed, using sandpaper and pins.

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