Laura Moreton-Griffiths

Developed from a sense of loss and yearning, much of Laura’s work explores how our sentiments towards the countryside, are shaped by our art and culture. For this reason, her research looks at the traditions of landscape painting. Laura is interested in the genre’s lowly status, out-datedness and sometimes dismissal. Understanding that landscape paintings are indeed important historical documents, her practice explores landscape’s historical emergence, and looks for evidence of its socio-political importance and re-evaluation within contemporary practice.

Much of her practice, therefore, considers the influence of eighteenth century English politics on the landscape, past and present, and modern urban life. Laura believes the agricultural and economic reform of the period underpins contemporary anxiety: she is interested in that anxiety. Anxiety is a recurrent theme, as is beauty, as it softens and exposes. Endeavouring to unite these concerns and have easily identifiable themes, Laura’s recent work began with paintings of 18th century Staffordshire pottery figurines. Today such objects are often overlooked, however, they fascinate Laura as the cultural product of the time and traces of our rural traditions. Attempting to reveal the skewed reality represented and the parody contained within, Laura paints individual portraits of the once well-known characters and places the characters together mise-en-scene, making indian ink drawings of pre-industrial suburbia. Further reading of Marxist theory and ‘class robbery’, concurrently motivated a series of crime scene paintings.

Laura’s new work, a landscape showbox, photographic montage and paintings, further develop her earlier concerns. She continues to dramatise complex stories, some biographical, some global, about the relationship between daily life, knowledge and understanding of the past and contemporary anxiety. Subverting historical and visual references new narratives emerge - full of human feeling and enchantment.

Laura takes a multidisciplinary approach: researching, drawing, painting, making models and using found objects.

For more information and general enquiries please contact Laura by emailing:

› enquiries@lauramoretongriffiths.com