Ella Walker’s paintings are layered in every sense of the word. Informed by traditional painting techniques as well as drawing and collage, her pieces depict figures with knowing or emotionally complex expressions, inviting the viewer to untangle the rich scenes in front of them. For her first solo exhibition at Pilar Corrias, Walker has taken inspiration from the 13th-century French poem ‘The Romance of the Rose’, exploring both its use of language and its form as a medieval manuscript, featuring tiny egg tempera paintings.
The original poem follows a lover who enters a metaphysical enclosed garden and desires to pluck a fresh rose, drawing parallels with courtship. Walker was interested in the language used to describe romantic love. ‘There is a sexual intensity, but also a violence within it,’ she tells me. ‘There is a lot of quite sexist language, exploring this idea of courtly love within the medieval period, but also this power play. The passive role is given to the woman.’
