Alla Laycock — Contemporary Art Curator Magazine

May 3

May 3 Alla Laycock

Biography

Alla Laycock Bio
I am a UK based artist living and working in Barnsley. I was born in Ukraine and from my youth, I collected albums on art but never thought I could be an artist. I am a trained Engineering System Analyst, and I only began to paint when I moved to England, several years ago. Now I live in South Yorkshire with my husband.
Art helped me through the stress of moving, separation from family and helped me to adapt to new conditions. For me, art is an expression of my inner world, it helps me to communicate, fight stress and loneliness. I am currently a student of BA Fine Art and I have progressed in painting from literal styles to exploring abstract mark-making techniques across digital and analogue platforms.
Studying the history of the theoretical and practical basis of Abstract Art and key artists of the modern art movement changed my vision completely and allowed me to shift focus from what I see to inner contemplation. It is a new aesthetic perception, requiring the transformation of consciousness.
I took risks to open my inner world to the viewer. I draw my inspiration from my feelings and memories.

Artist Statement

My paintings are an emotional memory of the moments of my life, my connection to places, events and people who have left a mark on my soul. Some of my work has a strong autobiographical element. It is self-reflection, investigation on establishing and embracing the resonance between individual and cultural identities in the world of constantly changing and over-abundant of information and speed.
My artwork is abstract, the beautiful, the difficult, space within which answers are not obvious, but oblique, the strategies to understand what it means to live life.
I draw inspiration from works of Frida Kahlo, Robert Rauschenberg and Romul Nutio.
My style is an exploration of abstract mark-making techniques in painting, montage, collage making, and VR skills. Combinations of these environments offer alternative abstract qualities which allow me to transcribe the personal or inspired memory into works.
My process of painting is intuitional. I put few layers of paint, sand it back, revealing the new structure and unexpected marks. I am scraping, printing onto the surface, adding collages, photos, calligraphic and geometric marks. Marks, lines, and colours tell the story, revealing unconscious thoughts and interpretation. Personal emotions, feelings and memories develop into abstract expression.

What first prompted you to think of becoming an artist?

After moving to England and moving away from my life in Ukraine, I was looking for something special. I remembered my passion for art when I was young. This led me to the position I am now.

What kind of an artist do you ultimately see yourself?

After experimenting for the last three years with different technics, it became apparent that my feelings and emotions about the life around me needed something different to highlight my inner self.

What are you hoping to communicate to the viewer through your work?

That every painting means something different to any viewer, I want to create an emotional response to my work.

Can you explain the process of creating your work?

I activate the canvas with marks and lines, many of which going to fade back. I like to work in layers with parts of earlier layers visible under later layers. That is the beauty of layering in an abstract painting.

What is your favourite part of the creative process?

Activating the canvas is my favourite part of the process.

Can you give us an insight into current projects and inspiration, or what we can look forward to from you in the near future?

Now I am working on series of collages. I call this series "Memory". Working in collages and acrylic painting together gives a freedom in choice of materials and technics. Layers of collage remind me of the layered nature of memory. These works will be exhibited at my final year degree show.

Website www.allalaycock.com

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/allalaycock/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/allalaycockart/