Alexis Pearse Flynn

Self-portrait five days after vaccination, 2021 

Oil on gessoed board | Unframed: 25 x 25 cm  

‘Self-portrait five days after vaccination was painted from life in an afternoon last spring. It is commemorative and reflective. Though I did not suffer anything like the pain so many experienced, the COVID-19 pandemic was a time of profound emotional change. On the day I received my first jab, I felt a tremendous sense of release but also sadness at what had been lost, and gratitude for the shared humanity that was helping to slowly bring the world back into something like the place we had once known. It was this sense, and the wish to mark this moment, that led me to paint my portrait. I believe the self-portrait forms an essential part of every artist’s practice, capable of producing moments of unvarnished criticality and distance that help wipe clear our own eyes.’

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