Sophie Derrick's work very much focuses on portraiture, but with the use of both painting and photography this genre is skewed and manipulated, and the transformative properties of paint are pushed to the limit. She photographs the act of painting onto her own skin and then paints on top of the photographs, creating a layering of image of paint and painted image, blurring the boundaries between the two. The 'self' is lost, buried beneath the paint, and the notion of portraiture is questioned. The body becomes both object and subject within Sophie Derrick's work.

There is a constant shift between dualities; painting and photography, absence and presence, and reality and fiction. The painting, photographic and layering techniques, and bold, vibrant colours used within the work become obstacles to reality, distorting and creating absurd and abstracted portraits. Sophie Derrick's work incorporates the two mediums of painting and photography. She has a great interest in the materiality and substance of paint, and execute this interest through photography, creating a juxtaposition of the two mediums.

DegreeArt.com is excited to present the launch of a brand new series of photographs by artist Ricardo Reis. Comprised of 24 limited edition prints, 'Dancing in a Spotlight' was created in 2021 and is inspired by the relationship between dance and emotion. Exploring the way in which dancing portrays and communicates emotions, Ricardo's dance-focused photography project celebrates the beauty of movement whilst observing the honest delivery of a Portuguese dancer. 

Read the press release here