AMAZING BABE: Tilly

Interview of Tilly by Amanda Attanayake

Hi Tilly, how are you?

I’m quite good thanks. My life has been quite busy lately but I’m still managing to take care of myself.

What are you up to these days?

I’m currently studying visual art so that takes up a fair amount of time during the week, but on my days off I’m usually painting.

How did you first get into making art?

I don’t think there was a defining moment that dictated that I would be into art; it flowed very organically and gradually from when I was younger, but I do remember a piece of writing from when I was about 12 that said I wanted to be an illustrator, that my mum still has to this day.

What topics do you like to explore in your art, and why?

The topics I like to explore in my art are Mother Nature, the human mind, political agendas and statements that we don’t truly know much about but still acknowledge that they’re present. I find that these topics are an extension of what my interests are and what I choose to visually explain and therefore learn from. Determined and resilient energies drive my work, I see it as a form of therapy, to keep me stimulated and able to express myself.

You’ve said that your art touches on the “subjectivity of reality”. What do you mean by this?

Your reality is yours and different to every living organism that inhabits the earth. Nobody can see and view the world as you do or can. I’m very much for individual thought and consciousness and I find that living in a capitalist system, there is a superficial, collective reality that’s in competition with and adheres to the reality that is ‘ideal’, ‘normal’, ‘conventional’. With these conflicting lenses, I would much rather just accept that reality is able to shape shift and merge into different realities based off of our emotions, expectations and societal moulds. This is one of the aspects I like to question and explore in my art.

Your artworks have names that explore self love, growth and acceptance. How has making art changed you as a person?

As mentioned before, I enjoy art as it’s a form of therapy for me, being able to express myself in a pure and tactile form has done wonders. I feel like it can be a direct translation of my mood, my worries and my doubts all in one. One of the most satisfying things about making and viewing art is how it changes and evolves with you, and you’re able to visually and emotionally feel it and move with it.

Your art spans many mediums. What makes you pick a particular one to work with?

Mainly gut instinct. Sometimes I feel more inclined to use another medium that I think will best work with the image I have in my head, sometimes I am having blockages with one medium so decide to experiment with another. I think my favourite will always be painting in oils though, I hold that medium very close to my heart.

What are your plans for the future? How do you hope art will evolve or change?

My plans for the future are to finish my studies and take my first (baby) steps into the art world, focusing more solely on my art style, technique and topics, and dedicating more time to a first group show, art markets and more. I also hope to explore art therapy and eventually be able to help people from all walks of life, while allowing others to express themselves, as I and many others have the privilege of doing. But I am similarly open to letting my artistic experience ebb and flow organically and with reflection as it always has from when I was significantly younger and probably always will be.

Who is your heroine and why?

I take a lot of inspiration from the things I can and cannot see, the natural world around me,  the people I am around and anything that I strongly admire. I can’t really pinpoint a specific person.

You can find the details of Tilly’s art below:

Artist name: Marz (Art)

Instagram: marz.aart or https://www.instagram.com/marz.aart/