Works

( In Order Shown )

Untitled I, Oil & Acrylic on canvas, 118 × 150 cm, 2025. Sold

Untitled II, Oil & Acrylic on canvas, 118 × 150 cm, 2025. Available

The series Veil consists of two monumental oil paintings that portray the human figure from unconventional, closely cropped perspectives. Both works deliberately resist a clear sense of circumstance; the figures appear suspended somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, intimacy and distance, presence and absence. Their ambiguity is intentional, enabling the viewer to project their own associations onto the image rather than being given a fixed narrative.

This body of work continues an exploration of the relationship between visibility and privacy, particularly in the representation of the feminine figure. Rather than presenting the subject through an expressive gesture or defined narrative, the paintings depict moments of physical stillness and withdrawal. The figures remain visible yet appear detached from the viewer's expectations; there is no obvious performance or interaction. This creates a tension between the subject's intimacy and the sense that something remains inaccessible. The title Veil reflects this idea of partial concealment.

The decision to work exclusively within a cool, monochromatic palette is central to the series' atmosphere. Removing colour from the figure distances the paintings from conventional photographic representation and gives the imagery an unfamiliar, almost dreamlike quality. The cool greys and controlled contrasts create an atmosphere that shifts between softness and clinical detachment, with the figures appearing at times almost X-ray-like, as though suspended between the living and the lifeless. Their stillness suggests the quiet of sleep, while the stark lighting and the body's positioning evoke an uneasiness reminiscent of a clinical or morgue-like setting. These contrasting associations are deliberately left unresolved, allowing beauty, vulnerability, and unease to coexist within the same image.

Cinematic imagery has been an important influence on Veil’s development. The photographic process behind each painting functions almost as the creation of a film still, capturing a moment that appears to belong to a larger narrative while withholding the events surrounding it. This creates a sense of suspended time, prompting the viewer to consider what might exist immediately before or after the depicted moment.

Scale further alters this relationship between viewer and subject. Enlarged to a monumental scale, perspectives that would ordinarily feel intimate or private become physically imposing. The extreme detail of the painted surface reinforces the photographic quality of the imagery, while the scale, monochrome and atmosphere transform the original photograph into something less certain and more psychologically charged.

Veil marked the conclusion of Ainslie’s BA (Hons) Fine Art degree at Loughborough University and was exhibited as part of the 2025 Degree Show. The series represented an important turning point in the development of her practice, consolidating an approach to monumental scale, monochromatic atmosphere, photographic realism and cinematic composition that continues to inform her work. The series was awarded The Access Group Award, recognising the work within the context of her graduating practice.