“Brighton is such a lively city full of fun, kind, crazy people. The course has the same atmosphere and it’s been a great environment to develop my practice, bouncing ideas off of like-minded creatives and some really inspiring tutors.”
Hi Lydia – please tell us a bit about your work and your influences
“I make paintings, drawing inspiration from objects and images that are synthetic, manipulated, and unnatural, including commercial photography and novelty items such as silicon masks and inflatable dolls. These subjects fascinate me as they are often absurd and alien but simultaneously reveal something dark about the way we see the world. I enjoy playing with painting language to subvert commercial images, taking the image from fast to slow, flat to textured, meaningless to meaningful.”
How have you found your course and time at Brighton?
“Living in Brighton has been a great experience – it’s such a lively city full of fun, kind, crazy people. The course has the same atmosphere and it’s been a great environment to develop my practice, bouncing ideas off of like-minded creatives and some really inspiring tutors.”
How did you choose your course – why did you choose to study that painting?
“I’d shopped around open days for quite a while but nowhere felt quite as welcoming as Brighton. It was at the interview where I met the tutors for the first time that I was convinced that the course was for me as they were warm and enthusiastic about my work and I could tell that I would have much more face to face time than with some larger courses in London I had considered. As for the subject, I knew I wanted to study fine art and my practice was primarily painting at the time, so it was a no brainer!”
What are your plans after graduation?
“Currently, my plan is to stay in Brighton, find a studio space and keep painting! I think I’ll also take up knitting.”
Follow Lydia on Instagram @lydiadurnall
Find out about studying Fine Art Painting at Brighton.
