Miranda Housden

Further information

I explore a physical language of contrasting materials, soft and hard, warm and cold, precious or dispensable. I investigate the properties of sumptuous fabrics like velvet, satin and fur and how they transform when filled or are constricted by ribbon, rope, steel or plaster, mixed with tar and dirt, or punctured by religious nicknacks, domestic or found objects and toys.

Focusing on how each object relates to the floor, walls and ceiling of the space they occupy, each work engages with negative space, light and the impact of colour and texture. More recently I have been developing a new language through oil paint on a huge scale in a confined space, playing with whether the viewer is immersed in a two-dimensional world or a physical installation.

I am fascinated by societal codes and hypocrisy. My work explores our guilt, pleasure and our relationship to forbidden fruit. How we desire connection but instead consume, ignoring the impact of our actions. Unsettling but familiar, these seemingly exquisite representations of our desires, tempt but ultimately disappoint with its senseless gratification, as we transcend into a murky menacing world of obligation, inequality and destruction.