Interview with Wren Davies
Your artistic journey took a pivotal turn when you transitioned from beauty therapy, fashion, and floristry to abstract painting. How did your previous experiences in these fields influence your abstract work, and do you still find elements of beauty, fashion, or floristry present in your creative process today?
Yes. So, my artistic journey began as a child, I’ve drew and doodled as long as I can remember and that’s all I’d ever want to do. My dad is an artist too but didn’t pursue it…My background in fashion, beauty and floristry still very much influences my creative process today, I always include wildflowers in my work I love the way they all have different meanings and il sometimes include figurative aspects or body parts eyes, lips. I'm going to incorporate more fashion now too I did more so in my digital art with styling Marilyn and Audrey in 2019 .
I went back to studying at 24 as I wasn't really present in school when younger! I Still got C’s somehow but not in maths! Then went straight to work. Later I done a computer course, college course for 2 years in fashion design then got my A levels and finally my degree in fashion illustration at London College of fashion where I became more creatively fluent I loved the life drawing lessons and I fell in love with art in the second year and moving cities gave a lot of inspiration.
Spirituality seems to play a central role in your recent work. Can you delve deeper into how your personal spiritual journey has shaped your latest collection, Synchronicities, and how it reflects your evolving relationship with the unknown and the unconventional?
So my most recent collection my Spirituality has played a central role as in 2018 I opened Wreneleven because I kept seeing 11:11 everywhere to the point it wasn’t coincidence anymore and I realised I was having a spiritual awakening, it was all new to me and so many bad things had happened in life so I got christened. I lost my mum to cancer and God continued to show me signs and synchs EVERYWHERE! I looked after her for the Three months from diagnosis and the one night I left her for my first exhibition in London the next day on train home a tiny white feather landed on my arm and there were NO birds anywhere obviously and I got a shiver down my spine and I just KNEW at that moment she was gone. I rang my sister and my Dad, and they didn't want to tell me yet as I was on way home, but I knew! Il never forget that moment!
When I meditate or dream, I see visions or spirit animals as guides and I fully embody it all now as part of my identity so I include these signs and symbols in my work and will continue to do so going forward…
I realised I need to accept the gifts that I’d already brushed off as being crazy or what others would label as such like clairvoyance, claircognizance and clairsentience and develop them… best thing I ever done 💫 I make all my decisions based on my sixth sense and it’s never steered me wrong! Everyone has them not just me. I predicted my mums brain tumour though so it can get a bit weird sometimes!
In 2019, you released your first collection after falling in love with painting, collage, and digital art. How do you balance the technical demands of digital art with the raw, tactile nature of painting and collage, and what challenges do you face when experimenting with these mediums?
I started with digital art as I loved using photoshop in uni and college and Andy Warhol started one of the first collections I think, and I love him…. Realism takes a long time for me, and I lack patience, so I used old photographs of movie stars. I enjoy technical collage as much as physical and obviously it’s less mess, but painting is like magic it just comes more natural there’s obviously more freedom and space which makes me happier. Sitting at a computer for long periods aggravates my chronic pain issues! I can’t really keep still ha
Your bold statement pieces often push the boundaries of traditional artistic expression. Can you speak to the importance of risk-taking and innovation in your work, and how you stay motivated to continuously explore new techniques and ideas?
Yes, I think because I'm neurodivergent and high energy I have so many ideas and feelings and I get bored easily, so I have to keep challenging myself! I experiment with mark making and I’m quite obsessed with compositions and the symmetry of things, painting is the best way to express this. It’s like a puzzle I must figure out which keeps the excitement going! I don’t really talk about my problems this comes out on the canvas. I’m not very traditional at all even my colour palette I call the chakras 😅I do respect the master's obviously, but I like to not think, that’s the best way for me, everything is intuitive I don’t plan any pieces, and I like the element of surprise
Having won the prestigious Global Art Virtuoso Award and being featured in notable publications, how do you manage the pressure of maintaining such a high standard of artistic excellence while staying true to your personal creative vision?
In relation to the awards that still hasn’t sunk in really it takes me a while to process things! I didn’t like the pressure at all at first as I’m camera shy a private person, so I’ve been pretending I’m being watched through my phone to get used to being seen. I practiced small vids on my TikTok account so I’m getting used to it now. I’ve tried my best to maintain the flow, but I always think I could be doing more but it’s challenging with daily pain Fibromyalgia and Endometriosis mainly! So, I do what I can when I can. I’ve been working on myself a lot the last two years. I’m my own biggest critic so I got a mentor and now I don’t beat myself up as much!
I will never work on something that’s ’going to sell’ for the sake of it I always stay true to myself and what I enjoy and know that when I reach the right people they will love and appreciate my work like I do. I will start offering more commission work in the New year though which obviously won't be about me!
Your work is a fusion of different artistic mediums and techniques. Do you believe that contemporary art has a responsibility to defy conventional categorization, and how do you see your multidisciplinary approach influencing the future of the art world?
Yes, my work is a mixture of so many styles and techniques but I’m very multifaceted so to me it makes sense, it feels like a language to me I can’t really explain it, and it gives me more options for collections, I like variety, I think a person can have many different aspects to them so I’m glad that this comes across. I think contemporary art has the responsibility to defy the ordinary in some way or another as its new and now and we’ll never get this time back, we get the opportunity for a reason and like fashion styles will always keep on changing depending on what’s going on around us.
I try not to look at other artists work around me too much though as to not be influenced! I want it to come from my own mind as much as possible and I think that’s every artists responsibility really and finding our own style
The concept of synchronicity seems to play a crucial role in your upcoming Basel exhibition. How do you interpret synchronicities in both your life and creative process, and how does this concept manifest visually in your collection?
I interpret synchronicities daily and think there’s a spiritual meaning for everything. I now live from my higher self and only operate from divine intelligence so when you reach a higher consciousness, spiritual enlightenment they show up more and more. Sets of numbers throughout the last Six years have all showed up at different times and pertained to what’s been happening in my life at the time, so I believe them to be true. I now trust it fully and it’s kept me safe from a lot of situations. As said above the spirit animals and numbers all are interpreted as guidance from source. My spirituality is a big part of my life I only go where I'm guided and good or bad there's always a reason even if I find out afterwards!
With your foundation in Illustration from the University Of The Arts London, how has your formal education influenced your artistic philosophy? Do you think the structured environment of an art school helped or hindered your pursuit of more abstract, unconventional forms of expression?
My degree in illustration developed my artistic style 100% this was when I realised, I wanted art rather than design as my future and the life drawings and sketchbook work felt very nostalgic, and it just felt right, I knew I was on the right path! Although I’d just been diagnosed with fibro and had to have operations so doing my degree was very difficult for me. Adhering to deadlines was too much when Ill so I felt freer when I left, I’m glad I got it though as I wouldn’t have experimented and found the ONE! So, it both helped and hindered really
Your work has been exhibited internationally and at key venues such as The Brick Lane Gallery and Artboxy Switzerland. How do different cultural and geographical contexts influence the reception of your art, and how do you adapt your message for diverse audiences?
I don’t think I really adapt my message as its universal. I suppose whoever source/God is to the person will resonate the most! My message is finding the light, becoming your best version no matter what adversities we face and not to let the bad things to define you or keep you a victim of the past. We all come from the darkness everything begins in the dark and my story and my rebirth is proof you can find a way out!
You describe an "obsession with innovation." How do you avoid falling into repetitive patterns or artistic stagnation, and where do you see the next phase of your career taking you in terms of technique, medium, or subject matter?
So, I could go on forever with my style at the minute because it’s like a person no two will ever be the same so it’s limitless! However the space I’m in at the moment definitely puts me off sometimes as I could do ten at a time in a larger studio whereas here I can only do two so I do feel quite restricted and this past year I haven’t done as many as I’d like because I need to spread out more.
We can only make do with what we have so I try to stay positive I feel blessed I get to make art for my career and next I definitely want to make a self-portrait collection, and one of notable figures I admire I won’t tell the title just yet but I’m really excited for this in the new year…. The faces won’t be large, and style will remain same around it, but more text involved too. I have so many collections I want to do I’m pretty much set for life ha
I’d really like to learn how to use resin soon as I would rather that than varnish and I'd really like to explore sculpting too at some point. I’m excited for the new. So, keep a lookout. Thank you
