Annie Riga
Degree: Fine Art
University: Falmouth University
Graduation Year: 2018
Artist Statement
Through my art practice I reflect on the interconnectivity between all natural elements, using it as a way to oppose the currently alienated worldview that dominates our planet. My paintings lie somewhere between abstraction and figuration, a playful conversation between realistic figures and dream-like worlds that are comprised of decorative patterns. I often capture humans in highly meditative states surrounded by blooming natural worlds, outer-space, microcosms and animals, all depicted together as one interdependent organism.
I am influenced by archetypal symbolism and ancient worlds but I am also drawn by our techno-centric, cyborg reality. It is finding the middle ground between primordial and futuristic, microcosmic and macrocosmic, real and abstract that fascinates me the most; my own unique amalgamation of 'everything. I imagine a world where there are no separations or explanations but rather everything becomes interrelated by a universal truth. Art making for me is bringing into being the unseen forces that would otherwise be forgotten, it is a confrontation of the unknown.