Nadia Koo embraces a tactile approach to painting, working freely without a plan and often applying the paint with her fingers or sticks. Having worked in social care for 30 years, Nadia found herself during 2020 with the urge to make a large-scale painting of flowers and turned a period of grief into visual joy.
Nadia says ‘The act of putting paint to canvas empowers topics that deserve to be seen and heard. ‘
"In the beginning, I created vibrant, surreal scenes of lush foliage as a form of escapism. While each piece burst with joy, hidden within the paintings was always a subtle word or element—a quiet homage to the shadows the art helped me escape. After the catharsis of that work, I’ve entered a new chapter. Portraits of people have begun to emerge—the ones who were once obscured behind thick jungles now take centre stage.'