Kim Foster Yardley

As a painter working primarily in oil and acrylic, I make both figurative and abstract work. Currently my focus is on figurative portraiture work dealing with identity, equity and mental health advocacy.

As an individual who was born into apartheid, my identity was defined by a political and social system. Drawing on this and my personal experiences as an immigrant, my mixed media practice, explores themes of identity and grief; racial trauma and ambiguity.

My intention with my work is to make sense of this lived experience; to express emotion unravelling; and disrupt misconceptions by exposing the contradictions of racial categorisation.

About My Portrait Work - I began painting portraits in Cape Town, South Africa. A woman of colour, I was living in a country steeped in racial segregation. Studying faces became an exploration and expression of identity and self.

Since immigrating to Canada, Toronto, I continue to use portraiture but focus on self-portraiture. I experienced a stylistic and conceptual evolution shifting from figuration to expression.

Recent self-portraits are interpretive, often with literal darkness in place of eyes and mouths. They are personal and autobiographical, expressing my mental health struggles and further exploring questions of identity.