Viewing Caroline Walker: Lisa

Caroline Walker made headlines back in February with Birth Reflections, her moving exhibition at the Fitzrovia Chapel exploring life on a maternity ward. Now she’s the subject of a new solo show at Stephen Friedman Gallery that traces the daily life of her sister-in-law Lisa as she becomes a mother. You’ll see Lisa packing a bag for the hospital, watching television whilst feeding the baby, and folding items of clothing into a drawer. Also worthy of note are the artist’s intimate studies of night feeds.

Walker’s personal portrayals of those close to her are carefully constructed and demand slow, considered looking. She begins the creative process by shadowing her subject and taking photographs of key moments that define their daily routine. Using this photographic material as a reference point, she then creates loose pencil and charcoal drawings, technical compositions and oil sketches. Her paintings are produced freehand from this preparatory material.

Walker explains that the works ‘combine a factual record of something that photographs represent, and my memories or emotional response to being in a particular place or spending time with the people I paint’. Prepare to stop, stare, and be seduced by her vision.