DOPAMINE ART

Collaging public domain images, Sophie Zurybida aka Spooky Zury, carefully crafts the kind of impossible worlds we’re more used to seeing through the haze of our dreams. Lifestyle magazine housewives sail through the stars and monstrous sea creatures cross the land in her retro-futurist mash-ups, eery yet beautiful glimpses into an alternate timeline that never was. Sophie has recently relocated to the edges of the Forest of Dean and draws inspiration from the gently unreal woodland, especially at twilight when her surroundings feel almost as alien as those she creates in her work. Drawing inspiration from pop art, folk horror and off-kilter sci-fi, @SpookyZury is rapidly building a cult following on Instagram, with followers eager for any opportunity to visit the strange and haunting yet wry and fun lands that lay just over the horizon in Sophie’s memorable compositions.

What do you hope to accomplish with your work?

Déja vu, hope, nostalgia.

What does art/your creative process mean to you?

It means I can bend all rules, defy logic, and create safe spaces.

Sara Hoque was born in North Yorkshire in 1991, to a Norwegian mother and British/Bengali father. As a child, Hoque had a multi-cultural nomadic upbringing which is reflected in her current work and habitat. Since graduating, she has been living in London and currently resides on a 40ft narrowboat cruising the waterways. During her childhood, the artist was inspired by the fairly rural areas of Wales and Norway, nature being the main subject of her drawings. She travelled a lot of unusual and beautiful places where she is amazed and in awe at the vastness of the forests and seas.

What do you hope to accomplish with your work?

At the core of my practice is a sense of escapism. There is the desire to escape back into landscapes, dreams and memories. To create worlds which you can get lost in. 

What does art/your creative process mean to you?

Through the act of painting, I can tap into a ‘flow state’ which transports me back to these magical places I’ve experienced throughout my life. Painting is an effort to get back to this feeling of awe; a way for me to capture it and transport the viewer to other planes. The awe and inspiring energy of nature propels me to create the dream like wonder I experienced. 

Cameron is a contemporary, multidisciplinary artist based in Glasgow. Kalila is constantly finding new ways to grow her practice through an array of mixed media. She is currently undergoing a degree in fine art located in the City of Glasgow. Cameron’s practice, at the moment, has focused on the theory of interactive work within a gallery space and the notion that art should be accessible to all. Kalila describes her work as feeling very process led, with the finished product being simply a last step. Throughout her work he puts a distinct focus on colour theory, and the ways in which colour informs our life.

What do you hope to accomplish with your work?

I would like this body of work to connect with others through a place of positivity and confidence. I would like the viewer or buyer to envision themselves within the image. Hopefully bringing a sense of tranquility.

What does art/your creative process mean to you?

My creative process follows me through each stage of my life, it is very much informed and shaped by my personal life. My relationship with materials is in a constant flux which I enjoy, I work in site specific installations, sculpture, ceramics, etc. The way I select my chosen medium for a certain creative concept is simply through feeling, what I feel will work best to convey my chosen message. I feel like I’m constantly growing and evolving alongside my practice. 

Eniola is a London based, emerging artist. She mainly creates botanical inspired abstract art using acrylic, watercolour, gouache paints and fine liner pens. Opesan uses art as a tool to bring more balance and joy into her life, and by extension she aims to do the same with people who see the art she creates.

What do you hope to accomplish with your work?

I just want to bring a bit of fun and joy to peoples life with my art. I want my art to brighten someone’s day!

What does art/your creative process mean to you?

I use art as a way to relax and unwind from the world around me, so for me, art means peace and joy.

Elle is a Portsmouth based, emerging artist. Guest studied Fine Art at Bath School of Art and Design and since graduating, began building her career as an artist. She creates acrylic abstract contemporary paintings, as well as digital designs which are made into prints. Elle continues to try and expand her work, using her designs on different materials to see where else she can take her practice. 

What do you hope to accomplish with your work?

I want people to feel calm and almost soothed when they look at my work. It has a soft, caring nature to it and I want people to feel that within their spaces when the work is hung. 

What does art/your creative process mean to you?

I feel like my art is an extended part of me. I can see myself in my art because its the type of interior aesthetic that I enjoy. When I create my artwork I imagine it in my dream house or where I would love to see it sold. 

Tasha had an artistic flair from a young age, perhaps stemming from her mother’s design background. In 2007, she went straight from Art in school, into an Art & Design course at her local college based in Poole, Dorset. From there, she explored her creativity with painting, graphics and photography. Although swaying towards a course based more on Graphic Design, she went on to study Commercial Photography at The Arts University Bournemouth, leaving with a BA (Hons) in 2013. Despite enjoying photography, she enjoyed more of the post-production side and became a freelance retoucher. This however didn’t have a lot of creative control and after many years of feeling lost, she started to paint and draw again, both with paint and using digital software. In 2020, focusing more on her digital art, she decided she had nothing to lose and began selling her work as home decor art prints as Peachi Prints. 

What do you hope to accomplish with your work?

I want to grow as an artist, exploring more themes and mediums and how I can portray them in my own way. I want my work to bring joy and colour to spaces that may otherwise be forgotten. Corners or walls that you see everyday that have the potential to bring about a positive thought or even a beneficial subconscious affect. 

What does art/your creative process mean to you?

Having fun with it. Not overthinking too much before you get started or you won't start! Showing up is the hardest part, of almost anything. And if things don't turn out the way you envisioned in your mind, that's ok. Sometimes it can turn out even better and that is an exciting risk to take! Moving forward as an artist, I need to take my own advice, and find the courage, as I'd love to get back into my original medium of painting on canvas and see where that goes as well.

Elisa is a London-based artist and illustrator using intuition as part of her creative process, who explores the intersection between art, creativity, and the human mind. She is passionate about working with people and communities to encourage empowerment and compassion through education, artistic expression, and storytelling. She uses illustration to process the world around her as a form of artistic therapy and is motivated by her drive to advocate for mental health and build awareness around neurodiversity. She likes elephants, red and pink, her dog, nature, kindness, and ice cream. 

What do you hope to accomplish with your work?

Creating is an important way for me to connect with people and my surroundings so I really appreciate work that evokes a relatable feeling, emotion or thought that reminds me that I am not alone with mine. If my work is able to stimulate that sense of connection and support for someone else, I would be very happy.

What does art/your creative process mean to you?

I see my creativity as a basic need and an essential tool for me to process my inner world, as well as my surroundings. Especially in recent years, I have learnt to embrace my practice as a form of therapy, focusing more on process over product, and valuing the freedom of unstructured play.