Inspiration & Story Behind Roo's Works
"I work predominately in collaged portraits depicting females and children. I’m hugely inspired by Vintage and Antique portraits usually Victorian family photographs that have been often disregarded. I also look at Vintage photographs of actresses and performers often from Edwardian postcards that I collect. The sitter will no longer be with us, this is extremely significant as I want to bring those individuals and characters back to life within my work.
I favour objects that have history that would of once had meaning but nowadays appear throwaway with little value. I’m a huge admirer of fauna and flora, the way nature is constantly changing, dying back and rejuvenating. I’m especially interested in decoration, pattern and themes of adornment. I’m constantly focusing on objects of beauty that are short lived and I am fascinated how we are seduced by decoration and how those tastes have changed throughout time.
I use Antique book pages within my work, unwanted with little value that I feel have a beauty and combine these with contemporary materials such as screen prints, digital prints, photocopies (that’s retro now) and neon spray paints to play with timelines. I am continually developing these timelines by investigating beauty, time, youth and ageing." - Roo Abrook