Visual Artist

Maya Davis-Stokes

BIRMINGHAM, UK

Distorted faces drawn without looking at the canvas describe how easily things can distort if you only look at things from one angle. I use this idea to describe stories and ideas in paint. Combining figurative and abstract elements in my portraits, the layers of oil paint quickly build up. Often exploring specific themes and highlight the absurdity, leaving space for the audience to interpret and ponder. Inspired by a quote from Marlene Dumas about how even ugly things can be beautiful in paint. Primarily working with Oil Paints on large-scale canvases, I also enjoy the intimacy of smaller-scale works and exploring my work in other ways. Underpinning my work across different media is themes of identity, health, neurodivergence, and subverting opinions. I make work to make people think, to elicit emotion and to question reality.

What are you making right now?

I am currently working on another collaborative exhibition called 'A Class of Our Own' about not fitting into the boxes society expects us to conform to. I am expanding on ideas from the recent Residency, which are autobiographical, using side-by-side distorted portraits in colourful oil paint.

What medium do you work in and what drew you to it?

I love the quality of Oil Paints, and the effects you can get from them feel elevated. I spent many years away from the medium. When I finally got a studio (and didn't have small children around), it was a great excuse to try the medium again, and I loved it!

If you could spend an hour with anyone you admire, living or dead, who would it be and what would you ask them?

Bit of a cliché, but I would love to spend time with Frida Kahlo, as a chronically ill artist who spends a lot of time in bed, she is very much an inspiration, such a strong and passionate Artist.

What do you need in your workspace to spark creativity?

My brain is full of ideas; I ideally need to be alone or in a quiet shared space to work. I find it difficult to converse with people unless they are also mid-flow. And definitely not with my children running around. Saying that, I have done live painting in Gallery Spaces and found it easy to do this while talking. As a neurodivergent artist, I often skipped the awkwardness of conversation, and people jumped straight in, also giving me something to do with my hands.

What would you like people to understand about your work?

Contemporary British-Israeli artist working in the UK. I reconnected to my studio practice just over a year ago, years after University and months after developing chronic illnesses. In the past year, I have exhibited in many places, both locally and nationally. I have had a Solo Exhibition. I have been a part of a residency and organized an exhibition with an Iranian Artist in the City of Peace and Reconciliation.

Has your identity, culture, heritage, or community influenced your creative practice?

As an Israeli in the UK, many spaces don't necessarily feel entirely safe, especially creative spaces, but I decided to stop feeling scared to tell people who I am. Identity is complex, and most of the work I make is autobiographical

What does success look like to you as a creative?

Success to me in my Art Career is to continue on the path I've started, exhibiting and developing my practice. Ideally, I would like be to be able to financially support myself and my family fully with my Art.