Ultraviolet Art Talks is a podcast/videocast series exploring the human side of artists, curators, musicians and people involved in the art world.
Listen to the latest episode, featuring artist Leah Hewson below:
We need your consent to load this Spotify contentWe use Spotify to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Leah Hewson has a First-Class BA(Hons) degree in Fine Art from IADT in Dublin.
Artist Statement: Beneath the threshold of conscious awareness lies the unconscious mind. Accounting for approximately 95% of total brain activity, this domain governs much of human cognition through automatic and affective mechanisms. It serves as a dynamic archive of experiences, memories, and associative patterns that shape our perception, decision-making, and behaviour. These shared unconscious processes also connects us as humans on a deeper level across cultures through our collective unconscious.I aim to explore this hidden space through an introspective painting practice. My goal is to find freedom in expression—free from social expectations or aesthetic rules. Inspired by Jung's theory of Individuation, I access the unconscious through practices that create a state of flow, such as meditation, automatic writing, and movement. In the studio, I adopt an impulsive and instinctive relationship to colour, materials, and techniques, remaining open to any possibility. I listen to hypnotic repetitive music through headphones and work on multiple pieces at once in order to let go of control and create the optimal environment for flow state to emerge.
The work begins with pure abstract movement and evolves into a dialogue between unconscious gestures and conscious symbols. Through this process, a visual language of layered patterns and grids emerges that is complex yet playful and invites a contemplative platform between individual and collective experience.
Listen to more from Ultraviolet Art Talks here
