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“Only in California could the night air be lit not by fireflies, but radioactive porn star cumshots.”
― C Z Hazard

I am currently in my final year studying at the University of Brighton doing fine art painting. I have had my work exhibited in the summer 2021 show Every Women Biennial and the summer 2021 show Umbrella Cardiff. I work with mainly large-scale oil paintings, but I also range out into collage mixed media, digital work, and animations.  

Sex work has been considered a shameful and unprofessional career. To sell your body for personal gain is illegal or hasn’t got enough rights protecting it. To ignore sex work as a profession is to ignore the first ever job. Our world is run by sex and run by the way men view women. When the pornographic world has shaped the way sex workers operate and how the world views a pair of tits. This work looks to place women in a world of freedom and fun where their nudity is just an extension of life.

It is a simple-minded view to ignore the lusts, personalities, and provocations to be as sexual as images from pornographic magazines. Yet still have the attitudes of everyday people. It might be easy to look at my work and only see these pornographic images; however, this ignores the idea that these women can be more than just naked figures. It is denying the world in which women and non-binary people can live a carefree space of freedom to embrace and discover who they are.

She/they

What continues to motivate you?

What continues to motivate me with my practice is when I have self-doubt in myself. Painting and making art are what makes the days easier. I struggle with reading having dyslexia so having a visual world that has no bounds is what inspires me to work.  

Who or what influences your practice?

What influences my practice is looking into the world of pornography. The tacky Word Art graphics and badly made ads used in pornographic magazines are what inspire my work the most. I use this as a base to then paint and draw people in a world free from judgement. If you look at my work and only see the naked body, you ignore the people, made up of their personalities, their emotions, their politics, or provocations. I want my work to anger the small minded and amuse those that appreciate what is normal.  

What do you feel is the most challenging part of being an artist?

I find the most challenging part about being an artist is the constant battle with yourself. The doubt and perfectionism that comes through can kill weeks of working, but a friend told me in those times of doubt is when you turn a corner and create something better than you’d expected. This has stuck with me in more ways than just artistically.  

Tell us about something from your creative life that you are particularly proud of.

I am proud that I am not scared to paint the naked body. I recall in college when I first started drawing people naked, I felt almost ashamed and thought it was too perverse to draw someone naked. Compared to now, where I am confused at how someone can even be offended at how I show women, non-binary women, or transgendered women when it is normal. I am particularly proud that my work empowers people and brings up conversations that may not normally be had.

Instagram: @dil.y