About

FACE TO FACE is an ongoing exploration of identity, emotion and the stories we carry beneath the surface.

The work began with a simple fascination with the human face. Something so familiar, yet capable of revealing so little about what a person may truly be experiencing. Through drawing and painting, Joanne creates faces that sit somewhere between portrait and emotion, inviting the viewer to look beyond appearance and consider what might remain unseen.

The intimate beginnings of the work have evolved into large-scale, powerful portraits that confront the viewer directly. Colour, expression and scale become a language of their own, allowing feelings of vulnerability, isolation, sadness and resilience to emerge without words.

For Joanne, the face becomes a starting point rather than an ending. Each work asks us to slow down and really look. Not simply at a person’s features, but at the possibility of everything that exists behind them.

In a world where we are constantly surrounded by people, FACE TO FACE considers how little we can truly know about one another, and how much can remain hidden in plain sight.