Tactility and texture, intimacy and observation are notions Sophie Derrick plays with in her practice. Taking a unique approach to self-portraiture, Sophie uses her skin as the canvas. Paint is placed sculpturally onto her face, before being photographed, digitized and flattened; the image is then re-animated by heavy sweeps of paint applied on top. The result is a blurring of paint and painted images, softening the boundaries between the two.

“I’m obsessed with the materiality and substance of paint and with the human form, and in my work these two things collide. I love the play between dualities within the work, photography and painting, the real and the abstract, the tactile paint and the flat image. My aim to make work that pushes the boundaries of deception and representation, and to create work that is visually arresting and intriguing.”

Sophie often works on a large scale, using wide brushes and heavy body paints that hold their form and give dimension. She exhibits internationally and has been shortlisted for the BP Portrait Award.