Brat by Ashlee Becks

In this self-portrait, Ashlee Becks embeds a cropped image of her head into an everyday kitchen scene. The bench is scattered with flowers ready to be trimmed and placed in a vase. Becks looks over them, contemplative and disconnected, giving an overall sense of unease to the work.

“The painting is at once banal and unsettling in its intimacy.”

The portrait explores themes around isolation and loneliness in a domestic setting. The impasto strokes emphasise the artist’s hand and emotional expression, the thick, textured layers echoing the weight of solitude.

“This everyday autobiographical portrait subverts the tradition of picturing important figures at their best.”

As part of her process, Becks begins each of her paintings by taking reference photos, roughly edited into striking compositions. Projected and traced onto canvas, each painting unfolds piece by piece. Contrasting fast, loose strokes with detailed, deliberate marks, her technique reflects the tension between vulnerability and control.