Inside the Work
I create art that explores identity, emotion, and the lived human experience through psychedelic and fluorescent expression. Working primarily in acrylic paint, charcoal, and colored pencil, I use bold color, distortion, and layered imagery to reveal the energy beneath the surface. My work aims to translate inner worlds - those shifting, intangible parts of ourselves - into vivid visual form.
My work engages with identity as a socially constructed and deeply internalized framework. Drawing from identity theory and symbolic interactionism, I explore how external pressures, internal dialogue, and lived histories collide to create versions of the self. The psychedelic and fluorescent palette becomes a disruptive tool, rejecting realism in favor of a more truthful emotional representation. By exaggerating color and form, I challenge the viewer to confront the multiplicity of identity: its contradictions, its fluidity, and its vulnerability. Acrylic paint’s fast-drying nature allows for impulsive mark-making that captures the immediacy of emotional response, echoing the moment-to-moment evolution of human experience.
Meet the Artist
“I am a Southern California–born artist whose upbringing in a challenging environment shaped both my perspective and my work. Navigating obstacles and change throughout my life has fostered a deep connection to authenticity, empathy, and creative expression. My art explores the balance between vulnerability and strength, capturing the nuances of human emotion and identity.
Engaging with the world has taught me to observe closely, reflect honestly, and translate lived experience into visual form. I am drawn to work that resonates with both personal and universal truths, seeking to connect with viewers through layers of feeling, presence, and reflection. Each piece is a dialogue between self and environment, inviting contemplation and understanding while celebrating the complexity of being human.
Through my practice, I aim to create work that is honest, expressive, and deeply compassionate—an ongoing exploration of who we are and how we experience the world around us.”
- Hope Noakes