Et in Arcadia Ego, oil on canvas

Morwenna Morrison creates layered artworks that explore nostalgia, memory, and storytelling. The artist works primarily in paint, though she often incorporates other artistic media and techniques into the brainstorming and planning process of a work.

Nostalgia and the Romantic Idyll, oil on canvas

I love Morwenna’s recent paintings in oil on canvas -- I find these works subvert the usual idea of using photographs as references. Rather than painting a scene from a single photograph, Morrison creates a collage, layering a black-and-white photograph over a colour scene, building up tension between the present and the past.

These geometric interventions into paintings that are otherwise quite strictly realistic are jarring and demand a closer viewing. They remind me, occasionally, of works by Renée Duval. I also like how Morrison draws directly from the aesthetics of photography. Rather than smoothing them over with paint, the artist incorporates things like glare and high contrast directly into her works.

Hot Pink, oil on canvas