This is me. My name is Louise Atkinson. It was supposed to be Sian Louise Griffiths, but my surname changed when my mum remarried. Sian was an option before I was born. My parents didn't choose a name for a boy.
I am an artist. I am also a sister and a daughter. A teacher and a student. A lover, a friend and a confidante. Sometimes I sing. Sometimes I dance. I take inspiration from everything I see, hear and do. I was born in a small village near Stonehenge called Odstock. Yes, I am from odd stock. Not long after that I moved to Cyprus and then to Germany on the Dutch border. Now I live in Leeds.
So here I am. What is my name and where do I come from? These questions should not be taken for granted. Everything is in flux. Nothing is fixed. I like the slippages of meaning within language. The thing that Derrida calls Différance. In art, as in life, I make decisions based on the way that I feel. I empathise.
I have a multi-faceted, interdisciplinary practice utilising a wide range of media including paper, photography, print, artist books, textiles and found objects. The specific concepts I address in my work include language and psychoanalysis.
The various techniques within my practice include constructed textiles, photocollage, bookbinding, drawing and printmaking. The concept and inspiration behind the work usually informs the techniques used and the form the work takes.
Recent work explores linguistic theory through investigating the cultural specificity of animal idioms from non-English speaking countries as a starting point to create a range of work including carbon drawings and text art.
The use of animals in proverbs gives a unique insight into cultural practices, whilst also allowing an understanding of how language is used to convey attitudes between people. By taking these phrases out of their original context and translating them into English, meaning is lost, highlighting the problems of language comprehension outside of cultural context and consensus. I am also developing work using non-verbal communication cues, particularly hand gestures and facial expressions.
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