Meet Graceland London | Female Contemporary artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Graceland London and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Graceland, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
From a young age, around 7, I loved drawing and painting. It was a calling and an urge to always create, it might sound cliché but, its the only thing that made sense to my brain. I would focus on other careers and hobbies but always get drawn back to creating, I remember always drawing on napkins in cafes and bars to plan what paintings I wanted to create. Everywhere I went all I could think about was making things, it was an obsession, so I decided to fully focus on it for good around age 22 and here I am!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My work is predominantly colourful an bright but my overarching theme that is prevalent through all of my work is examining consumerism and the shadow self, rebirth and regeneration. Much of my work features scenes depicting the over-consumption of vices as a way of feeding the human ego through the female point of view. I am also heavily influenced by historical religious symbolism present in Italian Renaissance, and Flemish art which I studied at a young age. In addition, my work draws inspiration from her frequent trips to the USA, which I considers and important influence to my artwork’s aesthetic.
I’m very proud of my consistency in creating, I think I can speak for other artists as well when I say its a roller-coster of emotions when we are in the zone making something that is purely ours. It takes a lot of courage to make something and put it out there for the world to see, which is not easy. I’ve learnt that consistency in creating is key even if its for 1 hour a day. I think that has had a huge effect on where I am today.

I am obsessed with learning about the human psyche, the shadow self, phycology, religion, alchemy… the list really can go on. My work explores the idea that you can’t have a whole self without facing your darker side, which in this society, in this day and age is frowned upon. I want people to see parts of themselves within my work and for it to feel somewhat freeing.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
London is a very interesting place and has a lot of beautiful landmarks. I would probably take them to sexy fish as the interior is amazing as well as the food. I would have to take them to the National Gallery as its one of my favourite places in London. And then maybe Sketch as the interiors really great too!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Yes I would like to dedicate this shoutout to my parents, They played a huge part in my artistic journey as they believed in me and my vision of being a professional artist. They helped me in any way they could, one example: I lived with them until I was 28, they were really supportive waiting for to get on my feet in the art world and if I didn’t do that it would’ve been much harder to pursue my creativity living in London, UK.

Website: www.gracelandlondon.com

Instagram: gracelandlondon

Linkedin: graceland london

Twitter: gracelandlondon

Image Credits
Sky Blue photography