Kress Lagudi’s work evolved through the use of textiles; with an emphasis on patterns, textures & colours. Now it is in the form of paint and she is currently exploring the themes of gardens. These two works come from her participation in Liverpool Hospital’s “Our Creative Legacy Program”, a palliative care initiative involving patients, their memories and artists. Kress addressed staff concerns rather than those of patients. She asked a series of questions about the staff’s experience of lockdown. Staff members recorded their experiences and Kress created these works from their responses.
My work is intuitive and playful; I want to spark joy. I create work which is process-based and it’s usually about my own intuitive, emotional experience. I am generally a very empathetic person, so I find I am drawn to creating work based on my understanding of other people’s experiences. I create work as a form ‘flow’, a great tool for stress relief and it gives me a sense of achievement. And all while I’m learning about a part of myself that I wouldn’t otherwise know!
I find it hard to talk about my work, because it is intuitive, so I have recorded my ‘making effect’ of the work you see here.
‘Looking In Looking Out 1’ (2020), Acrylic and oil on stretched canvas
However, I’ll summarise in text the intentions behind the work:
This work, Looking In Looking Out, is a response to the stress of the hospital staff working in the palliative care unit in Liverpool Hospital during the COVID 2020 time period.
The events of 2020 definitely had a rollercoaster effect on me. Stress makes (most people) less creative but during the COVID 2020 time period, there was even more need to create for the greater good.
Everyone was on their devices more than usual, so the digital space was a platform for visual creatives to share their work & their skills more easily to a large audience.
My work relates to the resilience of the hospital staff working through COVID. I felt the stress & trauma of the hospital staff and listening to their stories I was able to empathise and create work, which was a response to their experiences of confusion & anger in the ward at the time.
The broader theme is COVID itself; that although the time we are living in is rigid and stressful, there is hope and growth in the future.
Kress Lagudi
I would love people to look at the imagery used in my paintings and use their own experience to inform their own stories of 2020. Is it similar to that of the hospital staff?
More of Kress’s work can be found at https://artloversaustralia.com.au/artist/kress-lagudi/
