Inspired by Freud’s notion of the Uncanny, this series of intimate paintings is meant to not only cause a feeling of strangeness but evoke a sense of familiarity. Freud used the notion of the Uncanny to express the psychological experience of viewing something familiar in an unsettling or ambiguous environment. The unnatural closeness between the figures creates a sense of discomfort, as the two depictions of the same figures appear almost like twins. Twins often feature in mythology from various nations around the world: sometimes viewed as auspicious, in others as ominous and forbidding. Therefore, the viewer is encouraged to question how they interpret the Uncanny ‘twins’ represented within the series.

The background of each painting is informed by an exploration of the conventions of the medium of oil paint. The varying horizon line, is a characteristic that carries throughout this series of double portraits. Created through two horizontal coloured panels, the abstract backgrounds have been produced through thinning and rubbing away paint, creating a sense of flatness, a reference to Western miniature portrait paintings dating from the 16^th century. Moreover, the unsettling and peculiar nature of the double portraits within the series is a counterpoint to the Western miniature portraits whose aim was to express a true likeness and reality.

The viewer is invited to ask themselves how they perceive the double portraits: do they display intimacy and familiarity, or evoke a sense of discomfort through the Uncanny?

Explore the rest of the series on Instagram @maddy.crowther.art

Maddy Crowther ‘Dad’, ‘Lola’, ‘Katie’. Oil on board.

Each painting is 10 cm x 10 cm, 2020