10 Questions with Laura Bull
Laura Bull is a 22-year-old Birmingham-based artist whose work is characterised by vibrant oil paintings and, more recently, sculptures resembling human form. Growing up in Birmingham, she was exposed to a diverse range of artistic styles and cultures, which encouraged her to pursue a career in the arts. She recently graduated from the University of Leeds, where she studied Fine Art. It was during this time that she solidified her love of painting and the use of bold and contrasting colours. Since graduating, she has turned to sculpture as an additional method of exploring the theme of femininity, which is prevalent in her work.
Laura Bull - Portrait
ARTIST STATEMENT
Laura Bull’s practice explores the relationship between surface and touch, analysing the value of objects through vibrant oil paintings that primarily depict hands and gestures. Her work is influenced by a desire to critique the ways in which the female body is often objectified in contemporary culture.
Bull began using fruit as a tool to explore the suggestiveness and sensuality of surfaces, pulling inspiration from Ancient Greek myths and the symbolic power of objects within them. By drawing parallels between the flesh of hands and the flesh of the fruit, she seeks to highlight the perpetual materialisation of women within forms of modern media.
The process transforms their textures into smooth and alluring surfaces, valuing fruit and flesh on an equal visual plane. The flattening of textures creates a tension between the realistic and the desired, contributing to a blurring of lines between the fruit on canvas and the female figures within Ancient Greek myths.
Through her paintings and their compositions, Bull highlights the mistreatment of the female body; her approach emphasises the problematic ways in which women are often reduced to their physical appearance in contemporary culture. By using the medium of paint to challenge these ideas, she aims to contribute to ongoing conversations around feminism and gender equality.
Bull has expanded her practice to include sculpture, which has allowed her to further explore the complexities of human connection and the female form. Constructed using nylon and polyester fabrics and photographed within nature, the assemblage of limb-like forms articulates incongruity and dissonance, alluding to the fragmented and objectified ways in which women are often depicted in contemporary culture. By emulating the texture and aesthetics of human flesh, she seeks to create a visceral and emotional response in the viewer, inviting them to engage with the complexities of gendered embodiment and the fraught dynamics of power and identity that underlie our society.
Complexion, Triptych, oil on canvas, each 50x50 cm, 2022 © Laura Bull
INTERVIEW
You recently graduated in Fine Arts from the University of Leeds. But how did you first start getting interested in art? And what keeps you motivated?
Whilst I can't pinpoint a specific event that got me interested in art, I know it has been the one constant in my life since I was a little girl. My family has always been very supportive of me; my late Grandad, in particular, went out of his way to encourage my creativity – I could never visit him without being gifted some of his paint, pens, or an old art book. I was fascinated by color, and there were countless photos of me painting and drawing throughout my childhood. I don't think my old scribbles would be considered art, but I like to retain some of that childlike playfulness in my practice to this date.
I think what keeps me most motivated is the endless possibility of what I could make. Although sometimes daunting, the fact that there is always a new technique, combination, or source of inspiration is so exciting. I am motivated by the challenge. What will I make next? What could I do better?
What do you wish you knew about contemporary art before you got started?
Not everyone loves painting. I think that perhaps as contemporary art has become more diverse and interdisciplinary, painting has come to be seen as a more traditional and less innovative medium. I was naively under the impression that everyone viewed painting in a similar light to myself, so when at University, it was repeatedly suggested that I explore other avenues to communicate my ideas, it could be quite discouraging. But on a positive note, this better prepared me to deal with criticism. I can now confidently answer the question: 'But what's the point in that? Why not just take a photograph?'
Close up of Complexion, oil on canvas, 50x50 cm, 2022 © Laura Bull
Pinch, oil on canvas, 40x30 cm, 2022 © Laura Bull
Can you tell us about the process of creating your work? What aspect of your work do you pay particular attention to?
While the focus of my work is predominantly my use of color, the process begins in black and white. I sketch my ideas and develop them using continuous line drawings, which I find freedom in and enjoy for their imperfection. Apart from the occasional test swatch in oil pastel, color doesn't come into the work until I start experimenting on canvas.
I mainly work from photographs to capture a specific movement or action to work from and sometimes use video from which I use a still. My photoshoots are nothing professional but usually quite fun! I recently had my brother crush dragon fruit which was extremely messy, and another where I placed one of my sculptures in front of my friend and asked her to become it – that was interesting, to say the least!
Your work mainly revolves around vibrant painting and, lately also sculptures. What is the most challenging part of your work? And where do you find inspiration?
Titling my work is one of the most challenging things. I don't blame artists for jumping on the trend of using 'Untitled' as a title. I find it difficult to find something that encapsulates the work, not giving away too much or too little about its meaning. My ideal title provides a nod towards the inspiration or context surrounding the piece while maintaining a sense of ambiguity. I think a lot of my titles are less than ideal!
Often, I find inspiration in the act of creation. I will be making something that sparks other ideas. My work is an amalgamation of things I have read, seen, or heard, so I am constantly writing thoughts and words in sketchbooks or my notes app to refer to later.
Entangled in Conversation, Nylon, Polyester and Synthetic fibres, each Approx 52cm x 44cm x 40cm, 2023 © Laura Bull
How do you approach such different mediums and styles?
With the intention of exploration. I have found with sculptures that I have less control over the outcome than I do with painting. I am learning to stop working against the material and embrace the natural stretch and movement of the fabric and incorporate it into the work.
Do you have a role model that you've drawn inspiration from when creating your art?
Francis Bacon. The way he treated paint has always inspired me; the distorted nature of his portraits is mesmerizing. I also love his use of empty backgrounds so as not to detract from the subject; it is a technique I have employed in my own work.
What are the main themes and subjects of your work?
I am particularly interested in ancient mythology and making connections to current feminist themes. It's important to remember that mythology reflects the values and beliefs of the societies that create it. This means there has been a limited depiction of women; they were often portrayed in stereotypical roles like objects of desire. Within my work, I seek to analyze female characters in myth and the objects associated with them, exploring ways of using or distorting their symbolism to comment on today's society. Consequently, a lot of my paintings feature fruit as the main subject, with its association with femininity, fertility, and temptation.
I am also obsessed with depicting the human body, especially the hands! I have a minimum of 5 hand-shaped models and an armed skeleton in my possession, and whenever I'm unsure of what to make, I always circle back to my hands. I consider them a vehicle of expression.
Enclosed, Nylon, Polyester and Synthetic fibres, Approx 180cm x 10cm, 2023 © Laura Bull
Entanglement, Nylon, Polyester and Synthetic fibres, Approx 50cm x 40cm x 40cm, 2022 © Laura Bull
What are you working on now, and what are your plans for the future? Anything exciting you can tell us about?
I have a few paintings on the go at the moment! In these, I am looking beyond Ancient Greek mythology towards Japanese mythology, and I am excited to see what direction this takes my work in. I am also experimenting with combining elements of my sculptures and paintings into one work, a kind of sculptural form on canvas.
What do you hope to accomplish this year, both in terms of career goals and personal life?
I would love to be exhibiting some more work and spend more of my time traveling to new places to expand my ideas. Alfred Lord Tennyson said: "I am part of all that I have met," and I believe the more that I see and experience, the more I have to work with.
Finally, share something you would like the world to know about you.
I think that it's admirable to be passionate about something, especially if other people don't understand or respect it.
