I’m Ella Johnston.
With its foundations grounded in drawing, my practice is an ongoing investigation, and enjoyment, of mark-making processes, gesture, the calligraphic line and the meaning, or non-meaning, ascribed to them.
My recent work tackles concepts of nostalgia, homesickness, text and memory, with recent deep dives into the idea of palimpsests; the writing and overwriting of histories.
My body of work as a whole seeks to interrogate the vulnerability of existence, the frailty of the human condition; our resourcefulness and courage, versus our greed and vanity. My paintings, drawings, prints and 3D pieces contemplate how lives (human, animal and plants) fall victim to the whims of the powerful and the forces of capitalism.
I’m intrigued by notions of truth, myth-making, representation and (mis)communication, this has been coloured by my experience working as journalist and marketer, and being working class in a middle class world. The gestural layers of paint, ink marks, brush strokes, distortion of fabric and paper folds in my work reflect the constant rewriting of narrative, the invention of slogans and retelling of stories that I contended with in my journalistic career.
My key art influences are Japanese sumi painting, abstract expressionism, graffiti art and minimalist art of the 20th Century. However, I am equally influenced by my working class, East End and Irish heritage and by growing up in London’s immigrant diaspora and the visual wealth and cultural capital this has enriched me with.
I am co-founder of the small indie book publisher and art project Dunlin Press, where as creative director I also designs the books’ cover artwork.