THE LAST MAN ON EARTH

2023 - 2024

Shangri La, 80 x 120cm, oil on canvas

State of reverie, 40 x 40cm, oil on canvas

Smile in the face of the devil, 40 x 40cm, oil on canvas

Last man on earth, 80 x 140cm, oil on canvas

Nirvanas bestfriend, 80 x 120cm, oil on canvas

Could heaven ever be like this, 80 x 120cm, oil on canvas

In her latest works, Last Man on Earth, 2024, Annie examines the profound interplay of universal elements and natural forces to evoke a sense of both serenity and surrender.

A visceral journey through the tumultuous landscape of contemporary existence, Annie's oil on canvas series reflects the rawness of navigating an uncertain world through determined mark-making. Rendered with a pandemonium of vivid colours and expressive marks, the accompanying use of linseed oil aims to emphasise both gravitational and unstructured, free-flowing elements. She endeavours to seek the limitless potential of paint through relentless scraping, eliminating layers as well as building them up.

Contemplating otherworlds and a sense of heightened emotion, Annie’s latest works beckons the viewer to consider the many humanistic perspectives nestled between each layer. ‘Each piece aims to be not a utopia, but a series of perspectives within a shared reality’, she writes, ‘we all live in the same world, but the lens in which we perceive it is wildly different.’

Taking inspiration from travelling, storytelling and masters of abstract expressionism, Annie finds herself in a continuous state of curiosity, questioning her entire process. She uses non-figuration as a concept for universal chaos and uncertainty. Playing with the confinements of painting and its substrates, Annie exceeds the physical boundaries of her paintings in order to maximise both message and effect.

‘I like this idea of infection spreading in a harmonious way, one that is intriguing to the viewer. While ornate, each painting offers pockets of stillness infused within the bigger picture’, she adds, while speaking on the turbulence of emotions that surfaced throughout the production process. Her work in the collection ‘Last Man on Earth’ and ‘Could Heaven Ever Be Like This’ contrast between vulnerability and anonymity.

‘Last Man on Earth’ explores the limitless qualities that paint as a medium gives, intentionally and unintentionally, choosing no part of the painting to be left untouched or unspoken.