Ayesha Feisal is a interdisciplinary artist born and based in London. Within her art, she creates complex, amorous forms and explores psychological states.
Her work is an ongoing response to events and situations, through which she uses the human form as a means to exploring the psyche.
“Earlier work explored the effects of social engineering, in particular technological advances, the development of artificial intelligence and how it impacted our behaviour and sense of self.
During the first lockdown period I felt a real need to ground and to earth. I had this intense urge to cultivate and start growing…to bring the outside in, in a sense.
It got me thinking about the relationship between ecosystems; the growth of virtual networks; our reliance on tech and how it’s become an extension of ourselves.
As world events continued to unfold, I found myself questioning how we would move forward as a society and became focused on the idea of ‘transformative potential’ and how I could develop this within my work.
I started looking at carnivorous plants and began to include shapes which echoed their forms. I’m fascinated by their ability to adapt and grow in places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, this for me felt like a metaphor for our current social climate.
I’ve spent time experimenting with various mediums and methods , developing a technical process that allows me to articulate my thoughts .
At various stages of the process I add compounds causing the materials to mutate, then through, sculpting , manipulation and a combining of techniques I develop the form.
The pieces go through many stages of evolution till the final stages of completion, similar to that of the personal journey.
The work in this series is ongoing.
“Following a period of personal loss and challenges, I was forced to rethink and re-evaluate my position and the various roles I occupied. The psychological and physiological changes that occurred inspired me to start this body of work.
With Adam’s Ale, Eve Knows
“Adam’s Ale is an old colloquial term for Water (based on the presumption that biblical Adam had only water to drink in the Garden of Eden).
I wanted to include water within these works for the symbolic references including fertility, source of life, wisdom and intuition. The deepest waters in this world are still unexplored, so for me water also represents a kind of mysticism. The changeable qualities of water (liquid, solid, vapour) also allude to the idea of metamorphosis.
When I was titling the works, I was thinking about the female’s position in a patriarchal culture. How (as a society) did we arrive at Patriarchy and its set of ideas?
It got me thinking about the Adam and Eve creation story…how possibly the narratives and dogma we’re exposed to from childhood (ie Eve’s punishment for her disobedience) form subconscious beliefs in the psyche which are then perpetuated throughout the years without question. These then provide justification for the status quo? So whilst it was important to me (visually) to celebrate the feminine form and its characteristics, I also wanted to make reference to this.”
Ayesha Feisal 