The Mythology of Memory
by Lucy Bell
Untitled (flame 1). 2023. Oil on canvas. 16 x 20 in.
Something Like Eden. 2023. 11 x 14 in. Gouache on paper.
I am in a state of delusion and dissociation, living on the fringes of where my imagination meets reality. My two selves, one closeted and one proudly queer, existing in opposition and with great tension. My surreal personal mythos is born from this. Who am I? Who could I be? Who have I been? What is memory but stories we tell ourselves? When we remember something, does it change each time? At what point is the memory completely made up?
This is where these works come from.
I have two selves, one closeted and one proudly queer, existing in opposition and with great tension. My surreal personal mythos is born from this.
Through my work, I blend folklore and religion with memory to create a surreal personal mythology. I am interested in the historical connections between Christianity with tarot cards, other picture cards, and Paganism and how they interact in the modern day. Something Like Eden is heavily inspired by the King of Cups tarot card, which represents mastery of emotion and balance. The red world I have created is based around memories and body, thinking about spaces within and spaces hidden in plain sight. Red is a color fraught with meaning, bringing to mind rage, lust, blood, wine, gems, flesh. What if there was a ghost of myself looking at myself? Is that not what remembering is? Memory is as real as we can make it and as fictional as we allow ourselves to believe.
Shedding. 2023. 36 x 48 in. Oil on canvas.
Lucy Bell is an artist based in Northern California. She is primarily a painter but also utilizes textiles and clay to convey her ideas. After receiving her BFA from UC San Diego, Bell’s work has been published internationally and throughout the US. She has had work shown along the West Coast, notably in San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and San Diego.
