Free and open to all
Drop in to experience artist Daniel Elijah’s work
This event is part of a series of micro residencies in The Everybody Gallery, with a range of artists working with us over the coming months. Check out this page for more information.
About the Project
During the residency, Daniel plans to transform the gallery into an immersive installation that explores the intersection of text and visual art. Daniel’s concept of a ‘painting in the round’ will envelop viewers with large paintings on cut panels of unstretched canvas, creating an intense and intimate experience.
A central focus will be the manipulation of text within the installation. Daniel aims to experiment with how text can be displayed and integrated on a large scale, deciding which elements to highlight or obscure. This approach will invite viewers to engage in a deeper, more personal dialogue with the work, exploring how text and visuals interact to convey complex messages.
Daniel’s work opens up further conversations about how we use text in fine art, not to explain the work but as a compositional/additional tool to compliment a painting. For Daniel, his writing and fine art practices exist as one unit.
About the Artist
Daniel’s multidisciplinary practice, currently focused on painting, has developed over 10 years through personal study, formal education (including a BA Hons in Fine Art), and extensive time in creative therapies. A major theme in Daniel’s work is his personal experience with Borderline Personality Disorder, which involves intense relationships, mood swings, and impulsivity. Daniel’s art explores psychiatric treatment and societal stigma associated with this illness, capturing the intrinsic franticness of my experiences.
In his painting practice, Daniel layers elements extensively. This includes color washes, gestural marks, and 'painted collage,' where he paints impressions of images rather than exact replicas. Daniel also uses printed black-and-white collage elements and text, the latter performing compositional, gestural, and contextual roles. The writings in his work provide visual prompts rather than explanations, helping to navigate the overwhelming feelings and discuss identity, and suggesting that concealed experiences are as significant as visible ones.
Daniel’s paintings evolve through hundreds of changes, each layer contributing to the final piece. He is interested in handwriting and asemics (words without semantic meaning), which feel deeply personal and exposing. Most of Daniel’s works begin as drawings, a medium he particularly values. Drawing allows Daniel to channel gestures that inform my paintings or sculptures, aiming to convey the essence of an image rather than reproducing it exactly.
Daniel’s practice is grounded in research on psychology, memory, trauma, and attachment styles, supported by his BA dissertation on artists' approaches to trauma through Freud’s Theory of Trauma and the Developmental Psychopathological Model.
For more information about Daniel and his work, follow @danelijahartist on Instagram.