Rosalynd Aranel Byass Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom
As a self-proclaimed modern surrealist, I create oil paintings that explore and analyse the elusive mental reality. I visualise my nuanced feelings to declutter and to further understand my own mind and what I am experiencing. Pain, dread, and anxiety are the most prominent in my most recent work. The female nude is a vessel for tortured emotions.
Rosalynd Byass is a modern surrealist born in South Shields, England, now based in Jarrow, England. Since 2019, she has been studying surrealism and creating oil paintings, and in that time achieved a First Class Fine Art degree that helped her fine tune the focus of her artistic expression. She brings the ideas of 20th century surrealism into the modern day. The movement was about rebellion, unlocking the unconscious mind and exploring reality through creative means. For Rosalynd, she aims to visualise her mental reality with a focus on her experience with her mental health day-to-day, which includes anxiety, depression, OCD and PTSD. Often referred to as “female Dali”, her work captures the essence of historical surrealism whilst tackling modern issues. Commissioned by the UK singer/songwriter/musician Mr. B the Gentleman Rhymer, she created the cover for his album "National Treasure” released in November 2023. Notable exhibitions include the North-East Artists Open Call at The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art (2021), and the WHITE HOLE exhibition in the Ex-Libris Gallery at Newcastle University (2024). A zine titled “Uncanny” included three pages dedicated to her work created and printed by the not-for-profit ScribblesArt (2023). Her biggest achievement of 2024 so far was being shortlisted in the VAA International Exhibition & Scholarship Prize with her piece “This woman does not exist” (2024).
My art is therapeutic for me as I am expressing everything in my mind causing distress. The dialogue between myself and the canvas is as direct as possible to capture nuances and unconscious thoughts. The worth of my art comes from its authenticity - the foundation of surrealism. I am almost always thinking about what exactly “reality” is. I have an interest in visualising the mental world because that is how I process reality; I know nothing else. A large part of surrealism was unlocking the unconscious mind and exploring the dreamscape, and so I use these to learn how I am truly processing my reality and explore it through my art. I hope to express the strangeness of our existence through my work with a focus on my own experiences and feelings. Therefore, the imagery I use, whilst inspired by the surrealists, is highly personal. On the canvas, I want to create a world for the feeling to exist in, painting thin layers of realistic rendering, and composition, depth and lighting are always carefully considered. I hope to help myself and others process reality with my authentic, surrealist art.
Artwork
'There is nothing there', Oil on canvas, 2024, £480
Weird and Ashamed III, Oil on canvas, 2020, £80
Weird and Ashamed II, Oil on canvas, 2020, £100
Weird and Ashamed I, Oil on canvas, 2020, £100
This woman does not exist, Oil on canvas, 2021, £900
The Soup of the Unconscious is Eaten by the Woman I Desire, Oil on canvas, 2022
The Lady Searching For Her Missing Right Arm II, Oil on canvas, 2022, £1030
The Lady Searching For Her Missing Right Arm I, Oil on canvas, 2022, £1340
Let Me Leave This Place, Oil on canvas, 2022, £560
The Prophecy, Oil on canvas, 2023, £800
A version of me went with you, Oil on canvas, 2023, £150
AB AETERNO, Oil on canvas, 2023, £150
The Body of Someone Who Was Hurt II, Oil on canvas, 2023, £50
The Body of Someone Who Was Hurt I, Oil on canvas, 2023, £240
I Will Never Be Without You, Oil on canvas, 2021
National Treasure, Oil on canvas, 2023, £400
The Abstract Concept of You, Oil on canvas, 2024, £1000
Projects and exhibitions
| Details | |||
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WHITE HOLE Exhibition13/02/2024 — 16/02/2024 Organised by the BFREAK PROJECT, a group of creatives of different disciplines came together to demonstrate the power of creativity. |
Ex-Libris Gallery, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne | Details |
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Album Cover for Mr B. The Gentleman Rhymer, "National Treasure"01/05/2023 — 08/09/2023 A commissioned piece for Mr. B. the Gentleman Rhymer's album, "National Treasure". It is a portrait of him with imagery inspired by the themes within the songs and his persona coming from his head and swirling around him. It is 51 x 51 cm and was £400. |
n/a | Details |
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Supporting Arts Exhibition | 202201/09/2022 — 30/09/2022 I exhibited my piece "The Soup of the Unconscious is Eaten by the Woman I Desire" as a part of the Supporting Arts "2022" exhibition, which was an annual exhibition created as a way to support artists through/after the pandemic. |
IG: supportingarts_ | Details |
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Fine Art BA HONS Year 3 Degree Show10/06/2022 — 15/06/2022 This was the final exhibition of my degree. I displayed various pieces from my portfolio together, the central piece being my self-portrait "The Soup of the Unconscious is Eaten by the Woman I Desire". For me, it represented how far I had come despite the struggle of the pandemic. |
Assembly House, Newcastle Upon Tyne | Details |
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Open Studios 12 | Fine Art Degree Show Year 209/07/2021 — 12/07/2021 The final exhibition of the second year of my Fine Art BA HONS degree. I exhibited my piece "This woman does not exist", which was my final piece of Year 2. |
IG: fineart_ncuc | Details |
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Baltic Open Submission 202119/05/2021 — 05/09/2021 Over 150 North East artists exhibited together as part of this exhibition. I submitted one of my older pieces "The Valley of the Untouchable Fantasies" (2020, Oil on canvas). |
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead | Details |
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New Myths | Fine Art Degree Exhibition Year 231/03/2021 — 10/04/2021 An online exhibition to show the work we had created so far in our second year. I exhibited "Weird and Ashamed I, II & III", a piece I made at the end of 2020. |
IG: fineart_ncuc | Details |
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Relations and Reflections | Fine Art Degree Year 225/03/2021 — 17/04/2021 Everyone from my fine art cohort created a piece under the theme of "Family", a theme poignant because of the pandemic. I created a piece about myself and my twin brother, "I Will Never Be Without You". |
vane.org.uk | Details |
Open Studios 11 | Fine Art Degree Year 101/12/2019 — 20/12/2019 An exhibition to display the work of myself and my peers that we had created in Year 1. |
Mandela Building, Rye Hill Campus, Newcastle College, Newcastle Upon Tyne | Details | |
UAL/Newcastle College Foundation Diploma in Art & Design Final Exhibition01/06/2019 — 15/06/2019 The final exhibition of my Foundation Degree in Art & Design. |
Mandela Building, Rye Hill Campus, Newcastle College, Newcastle Upon Tyne | Details | |
New Myths | Foundation Degree in Art & Design07/01/2019 — 14/01/2019 Exhibiting the work I created that year so far in my Foundation Degree in Art & Design. |
Assembly House, Newcastle Upon Tyne | Details |