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Realistic narcissistic characters painted by Tristan Pigott to convey human ego

When you consider the artworks of Tristan Pigott, you immediately see a recurring theme: one that conveys humans as egotistical and narcissistic. His realistic painted figures pose before a surreal backdrop and playfully mock the importance we place on image and perception.

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Woman in white and navy striped shirt gazing downward against a dark, abstract background in a realistic oil painting by Tristan Pigott

Tristan explains: "The abstract composition of the work displays the difference between performance and reality. Alternatively, I illustrate details such as clothes and hair with realism to emphasise the importance my sitter, as well as the viewer, place in their own image.

"The figurative style of my painting allows me to convey conceptual narratives with immediacy relevant to the viewer. In a recent painting, ‘Waiting Room’, the same man is pictured twice in different styles, the application of paint becoming looser as the painting recedes. The man holding a cygnet is painted in a realistic style, whilst the more abstractly painted figure holds an iPhone. These motifs, as symbols of value and culture in successive eras, accompany the developing brushwork to question the relevance of tradition in contemporary society and within the evolution of oil painting."

The suggestion of action plays an important role in Tristan's paintings: "It provokes the viewer’s interpretation, as opposed to simple objectification, of the subject within their surroundings. Allowing me to develop my interest in the cyclical nature of everyday life, a reoccurring theme in my work.

"Every day actions such as eating and drinking mirror similarly habitual and automated psychological traits such as arrogance and anxiety. These themes are portrayed using personal sources, playing on people’s characteristics, putting them in surreal narratives and showing the theatricality of the situation."

Via Artnau

Woman in a neon yellow top seated on a chair in a vibrant red room with potted plant and framed artwork behind her, painted by Tristan Pigott
Three figures in contemporary sportswear interacting against a textured purple background in Tristan Pigott's painting exploring narcissism and ego
Three figures in a surreal laundry room setting: one man viewed from behind, a woman in a navy top with hand to her head, and another woman sitting eating from a takeaway container
Woman in lavender jumper holding a bowl of soup with bubbles rising from it against a textured white wall
Two figures sit together on a patterned sofa beneath an abstract artwork, one in a blue jacket looking away pensively, the other holding a mobile phone and gazing to the side
Woman in white vest and black leggings sits surrounded by potted plants against a green background with blue and lime silhouettes, in a painting by Tristan Pigott
Man in blue jumper sitting on green chair beside gas stove with pasta, set against bright yellow background
Two bespectacled men sit on chairs against a pale blue wall; one holds a small dog while the other reclines with his leg raised, set against a striped floor in Tristan Pigott's painting exploring narcissism and ego
Man in yellow jumper holding a ginger cat, seated on a red and white patterned surface with green foliage painted behind him
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