Jellyfish numbers have exponentially risen globally as a result of humans polluting the oceans. Industries across the globe release nitrates into the water which feed algae which in turn feed the jellyfish. This bloom is particularly apparent around the South China Sea. This population rise mirrors mankind’s own population crisis. I caught a snapshot of this dystopia on two resent trips to China which helped to inspire the ‘Jellyfish’ paintings. The paintings combine jellyfish with the female human form. These compositions push beyond the space that either of these beings would physically inhabit. This extra inhabited space represents the vast tangle of conscious and unconscious states that flows through us all. Our evolutionary adaptations are ill equipped to deal with the fast paced, cognitive dissidence and complexity of the modern world. Through working with human-animal hybrid my work raises questions about inherent human nature and the turbulent relationship that we have with the Earth and it’s other inhabitants. In my residency at ESKFF I am exploring the inhabitance of the deep in a by reimagining deep sea creatures into semi abstract forms. To these forms points of coloured reference are attached like clothes labels. My work walks the line between representational and abstraction. This line or tipping point where the physical meets the psyche is a common thread through out my practice. I conduct residencies in a pathology labs where I make work during human dissections. Whilst questions about mortality are inevitable in such settings, there are also a plethora of other strong emotions and thoughts that crowd the mind. The incredible form and colours that are revealed during the dissections inform the internal aspect of my work whilst live life model, animals and seeds inform the external form. This play between internal and external life can be seen in my sculptural practice as well as my paintings. I am currently artist in residence at the Millennium Seed Bank, Kew, Wakehurst were I have been making work about seed dispersal.

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My bodywork is outlined by minimalistic art. It's achievement is revealed with personal references of humanitarian and spiritual concerns, so I use repeatedly the written word and symbols that represent the collective visual universe.

My work includes: Painting, drawing and engraving. Minimalism, conceptualism, pop culture, structuralism and post-structuralism, authors such as Antoni Tàpias, Julião Sarmento, Duchamp, they are all inspirations on my work.

Rajul studied art at the University of Bombay and continued her studies at Beit Berl in Israel. Rajul has developed into a determined artist in her right. Each of her works often produced varied individual interpretations.

The passion and energy displayed helps dictate the rhythm of her artistic life. She displays a unique blend of harmony, sensitivity, and feeling in all her works. Reality versus dreams as well as a combination of traditional and modern art are highlighted throughout her work.

Rajul sees herself as continuing the artistic tradition established by Andy Warhol, who pioneered the post modernistic
form of Pop Art in the 1970′s, with his portraits of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley.

Regarding any further involvement in the art of her Indian homeland she says that she has no choice as it is her life in Israel that has given her the unique perspective that has enabled her to reach her present artistic level, which from her point of view incorporates all her daily activities, which contribute also to the art of being a woman. Rajul was among the top artist chosen as Israel’s cultural Ambassador for 2005. Her works are widely shown in distinguished Art Museums, institutes and exhibitions.

Olav Mathisen is a young artist from Lillehammer, Norway. Mathisen has studied Fine Art at Ålesund Kunstfagskole, Strykejernet Kunstskole and   Bergen Academy of art and design (KHIB).

He primarily works with oil and egg tempera on canvas. His subject matter draws from fragments of the human condition; tendenses, roles, both subjectification and objectification of "the self" in different constructed situations. His paintings consists of a variety of techniques. From total abstraction and thick pastose strokes, to more detailed figurative painting conversing on the same surface

Henrik Martensen (b. 1956) is a self-taught painter with an obvious visual talent. In his art , he stands on the shoulders of the Romantic painters who cultivated nature as the great , God created gift to humanity . His ability to depict natural phenomena is second to none . It emerged last of the group exhibition Panorama , which was shown at the Johannes Larsen Museum , Denmark , in the spring of 2016. As few other painters of his time, Henrik Martensen mastering the mimetic method , the ability to transplant nature’s manifestations , so they appear exactly as real phenomena on the surface. He usually work serially and in both large and small formats , and he has a special fondness for clouds , air and sea, so subjects are often shrouded in a spherical , blue color.

Painter and illustrator, proficient in traditional and digital mediums.

Originally from Tromsø in the north of Norway, currently residing in Brooklyn, New York.

Born 1990 in Lillesand, Norway, live and work in Oslo. My main obsession is watercolor, but I also use graphite, ink, acrylics and mixed media in my works. I find beauty and art in details, like the shifting colors and light in the surface of the skin, the fluidity and endlessness in a persons eye, or the imperfections of  that makes us different but yet so alike. I find beauty in the painfully real, delicate and fragile that I find is our very existence.Add Description here

Xevi Solà lives and works in Girona (Spain). He studied Fine Arts in the University of Barcelona. He worked in a psychiatric hospital for years, experience that he considers important to understand his work.

His work has been exhibited in galleries and Art fairs in Spain, Germany, France, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Brasil or Taiwan. In 2014 he won the Young Art Award in the Taipei Contemporary Art Fair. 

“My scenes almost always occur in front of a house, a house with large windows, where someone might be watching, without anyone seeing him. This house on the hill becomes a character itself, a silent witness of the scene. 

I search not only the contrast between appearance and intentions of the characters, but I also try to communicate the visual strength, in formal terms, for example with the use of complementary colors or with the use of the contrast between vertical and horizontal lines, or placing the characters standing on a flat landscape to transmit emotional intensity and even some sadness. 

In short, I think the energy that emerges from the vision of any image is closely linked to the use of opposites. The stronger the contrast, the stronger the energy. The use of opposites provides greater visual impact, and makes easier the final reading of the work.”

Xevi Solà lives and works in Girona (Spain). He studied Fine Arts in the University of Barcelona. He worked in a psychiatric hospital for years, experience that he considers important to understand his work.

His work has been exhibited in galleries and Art fairs in Spain, Germany, France, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Brasil or Taiwan. In 2014 he won the Young Art Award in the Taipei Contemporary Art Fair. 

“My scenes almost always occur in front of a house, a house with large windows, where someone might be watching, without anyone seeing him. This house on the hill becomes a character itself, a silent witness of the scene. 

I search not only the contrast between appearance and intentions of the characters, but I also try to communicate the visual strength, in formal terms, for example with the use of complementary colors or with the use of the contrast between vertical and horizontal lines, or placing the characters standing on a flat landscape to transmit emotional intensity and even some sadness. 

In short, I think the energy that emerges from the vision of any image is closely linked to the use of opposites. The stronger the contrast, the stronger the energy. The use of opposites provides greater visual impact, and makes easier the final reading of the work.”