Lonnie Kelly

Lives and works in Arlington, WA, USA

Artist statement

Art is a conversation with Self. The images I create examine societal & internal narratives. Images are created by my subconscious and meaning is explored and found through the creation of the work. The surreal nature of my work derives from internal perceptions and truths that build the framework for how I see and experience the world. That framework includes my own positionality as a queer, white, fat, woman, with the experience of living with a mental health condition. My work navigates through these lenses. While these explorations are personal - I speak to the human condition as a whole. My work is a bridge between the duality of internal and external terrains. My subjects take shape like a compulsion demanding to be revealed and understood. At times, their gaze provokes discomfort in the viewer, as the subject presents itself unabashedly in defiance of societal norms. Recoiled from art that is used to present fat women as grotesque, my work instead attempts to foster calm serenity around pieces of identity that are entrenched with shame, or that we tend to hide from the world – you have time to and are safe to reflect in this space. The art searches for clues to define identity through place, body, and mind. Color and line carry an undercurrent of emotion and possibilities that are open to interpretation. The creation of the work generates a dialogue that bypasses the dissociative mind and unravels the complex architecture of identity.

Artwork