The New Surrealist Collection

The top floors of our home in London is transformed into an art studio whenever I come back for a few weeks.

I shall let you enjoy the step-by-step process below, and you can find more storytelling below for the story behind this new artwork:

After falling in love with the Central Saint Martins library (probably because it was empty, and mine?), I decided that wanted to create a few new Surrealist pieces celebrating my favourite artworks and artists.

The list is long and pretty much “sans fin”, without an end, so I am going to have fun creating lots of new pieces inspired by these Masters.

For this new art piece, I decided to keep it simple, to represent exactly how I was feeling at the moment I started sketching, which was perfectly 50/50 British-French, torn between the two worlds, embodying Brexit, unsure of whether I should move back to London to take care of my mother full-time, or to keep flourishing in Paris and to invite her over several times a year, so that we both have things to look forward to, as we currently do. My mother loves France, and is very happy that I have both nationalities. It is debatable as to whether she is coming to see me, or the cheese, but either way, it makes her happy, so that is the priority.

For this new art piece, I decided to improve my painting technique, and to challenge myself to throw in some new levels of detail that I have never achieved, but have always wanted to - Fabric folds, texture, blending and landscape colour gradients. I also decided to represent my emotions and identity at that moment in time by literally representing the two edges of France and the UK, with myself in the middle, on an island - alone, only child, solo, the adventurer, but also the pioneer, the leader - with the entire piece painted upon a pink undertone backdrop, giving me the perfect excuse with the white and blue of the scenery and skyline, to let the pink show through in the two opposing pyramids facing at each other, and therefore represent the colours of the Trans flag, as a little nod to my community.

For the location, we are therefore by the seaside, between Étretat (France) and Dover (U.K.), somewhere in the middle of the English Channel.

Below, my interpretation of Jane Graverol’s "L’Esprit Saint”, replacing the bird with a seagull (as we are at the seaside):

The representation I decided to choose for myself between the two worlds, was another piece I love - Wanderer Above The Sea Of Fog, by Caspar David Friedrich.

Here, I kept the stance, and the sword, but I added my own signature leather trench coat, my hair in big wavy mode, and some point page-like shoes, to make a little link with adventure, tarot cards, and magic.

Just behind, there is a minimalist boat, with which I had planned to represent and honour the migrants who had lost their lives crossing the English Channel, but in the end I decided against it, as I do have a habit that I am trying to undo - being too maximalist and always trying to add meaning on meaning, layer on layer, so I decided to keep it simple. In addition, perhaps an overly political stance is not quite where my signature lies - but this might change in the next pieces. Perhaps the boat alone, without the figurative migrants, already represents a ghostly reminder of the dangers…?

So now you have seen the two main focal points of the piece.

Below, you can also see the cliffs of Étretat on the left, and the cliffs of Dover on the right.

When you see the full piece, you can also admire the two pink undercoat pyramids that emerge, facing each other, above and below, almost like the Louvre pyramid and the mini pyramid underneath, inverted. The pink pyramid above obviously makes reference to the pink triangle, which is a symbol for the LGBTQI+ community, as well as the various pyramids scattered all over the world, not just in Egypt. I am fascinated by mythology and spirituality, so “Trinity” and “Pyramids” are important symbols in my work.

The pink pyramid represented by the island upon which I stand is more subtle, and that is the point. It is tangible, it makes reference to Simulacra and Simulation again, and it treats the subject of duality - another key aspect of my self-assessment into my identity and how I wish to represent this in my art.

Untitled // The Bridging of the English Channel // A New Perspective on Surrealism // L’esprit libre en quête d'aventure - Final name TBC for Low Residency in March 2026

Acrylic on canvas, 90 × 150 cm

London, 2026