Megan is a Manchester based artist whose work explores the interplay between photography and painting, particularly focusing on the nuances of their relationship. Her works are produced with oil paint on canvas, and she is fascinated by how photographic techniques can serve as essential tools in the painting process.

Focusing on figuration, Megan aims to capture the fleeting moments and complexities inherent in human interactions, displaying a dichotomy within her work by juxtaposing recognisable instances from everyday life with the cinematic and exuberant; the intimate and the deeply impersonal. Whether drawing from personal family photographs or film stills, her paintings seek to encapsulate the essence of human experience.

The use of cropping is a fundamental compositional element within Megan’s paintings. The cropped film stills selected as source material intensifies the narrative within her work through the act of reproduction. By isolating subjects from their wider environments into spaces of ambiguous anonymity, she draws attention to overlooked aspects of scenes and subjects. Through her paintings, Megan offers viewers an intimate glimpse into the existence beyond our immediate sensory perception. This pause allows the beauty of the transient and the banal to emerge as the central focus.

Instagram: @megan_sparkes