Laura Olohan’s paintings take their conceptual starting point by attempting to show what is not present. An abandoned object, a lost or discarded item, or some other human intervention – focuses the mind on what is missing from the scene. Loss, abandonment and a sense of melancholy embody the work, yet these paintings also speak of the everyday -full of its movement and detritus, touching on a much wider psychological charge. By observing to paint such things – seeing what is ignored or goes un-noticed, Olohan finds presences in the absence, stillness in the bustle and beauty in the loss.

 

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