Ella Chay

My paintings and sculptures explore the ability to be many things at once. By investigating the junctions between materials, my work aims to understand the relationship between the three- dimensional sculptural object and the two-dimensional painted image of an object. In stitching together disparate mediums, I intend to bridge the gap between two-dimensional and three- dimensional surfaces. I am compelled by how my works exist in relation to each other and how they function together to create an artificially constructed space.

Thematically, my current work engages with ideas of travel and transportation and focuses on expanding imaginary worlds within established institutional spaces; visionary expansions of space become a way of travelling outside of everyday existence. In relation to travel, the materiality of souvenirs and relics is actively considered in my work. I am also interested in exploring the nonsensical mechanisms of dream logic, while considering how memories and images are warped into idiosyncratic patterns of thought. Dreaming and creative world-building coincide, as imitations of ‘real’ images and spaces are translated into alternate environments. In a similar fashion to dreams, my work strives to navigate recognizable things outside of their conventional contexts. Film props and physical set designs are a large influence on my work, particularly those that play with artificiality and the mimicry of tangible objects, as I am fascinated by the ways that existing culture is infused into fantastical spaces.

Psyche (2020)

Acrylic on canvas, 24” x 30”

Oh, for the Love of Looking (2021)

Acrylic and clay on glass

Untitled (2020)

Acrylic and textile embedded in a
powder compact, 2.5” x 3”

Del Mundo Study (2020)

Acrylic on canvas

Centre: Del Mundo (2021), 36”x 48”; Installation, Acrylic and clay on canvas

Left and right: Oh, for the Love of Looking (2021); Acrylic and fabric on glass, acrylic and clay on glass

Untitled (Swan) (2021)

Acrylic on canvas, 30” x 48”

Untitled (2021)

Installation; Paper mâché and acrylic, acrylic and textile on canvas, 36” x 48”