Irene Wellm

In my work I am drawn to the underworld journey, and to explore shadows and ambiguous narratives in my art. The ancients knew this as the Underworld, where the spirits dwelt. Today it is the inner, or psychological realm, where the creative activity is still uncanny and mysterious. I try to recognize religious and mythological concepts as symbolic, and interpret them psychologically. This may be a subjective state, or a psychological attitude, rather than an external/physiological one. So myth and fairy tales are understood as representing stages of consciousness, or inner psychological development. With this framework behind me, I make multi-layered narratives by way of collage. These are often figures based on Paper Dolls from the’60s and are painted using gouache on large sheets of paper. Animal and human, each successive work is another personal fairy tale about recovering the self within. for more information on Irene's work, please visit https://irenewellm.com/home