Isobelle Lowe
Name, age and favourite song to get down to:
Isobelle Lowe, 21 and anything from the Fugees
Uni year and what you're studying:
Second year in a bachelor of fine arts/arts
Instagram (or any online art portfolio):
Isobelleirl
What themes do you explore in your work?
A common theme in my practise is the tension between being an individual and being part of a group. I explore this by depicting people at times of relaxation, such as lying in bed or sitting inside, and surrounding them by patterns, colours and sometimes other, smaller illustrations. Depending on how they are integrated into their surroundings or what illustrations surround them this can show either greater or lesser external input. This represents the conflict between developing a sense of self by finding time to reflect and not shutting yourself off to unfamiliar experiences for fear of losing one’s current identity.
Describe some of your favourite past works, and what made them meaningful to you.
There was one performance/participation work I once made where I examined and recreated the power imbalance between teachers and students by creating a treasure hunt that led the participants to a box of candy. I found this artwork interesting because we generally learn about power imbalance as a negative thing, which is how I tried to portray it at first, but as I kept developing and researching my topic I came to consider it in a more positive way. The clues of the treasure hunt were therefore a way to demonstrate the potentially negative aspects of the relationship, in that a teacher has the power to determine what is ‘correct’ and to lead you down a certain path of information, while the candy showed the benevolent nature of this imbalance.
Are there any other projects or collaborations you're currently working on that you would like to tell us about?
One thing I’m working on is painting clothes. I’ve just been experimenting on my own things so far but I’d like to make them for other people and sell them in the future.
