Painting the Table Where People Come Together

Emilia Symis begins many of her paintings the same way: with an hour, a laptop, and a scroll. "Most of my inspiration comes from social media, especially Pinterest," she says. "There is such an abundance of aesthetically pleasing photography on this platform, and within a few clicks I can find hundreds of images that may spark an idea. Usually when I need inspiration for paintings, I'll sit down for an hour on my laptop and come up with at least 3-5 ideas." Just as often, the source is closer to home: "I also source inspiration from childhood memories, meals out, home cooked meals, cookbooks etc!"

At the heart of the work is connection. "At the moment my art is about using food and drink as a way of bringing people together," she says. "My hope is that people see my paintings and are reminded of a special moment that they shared around the table with family or friends. I hope that the added hands in the composition make people think about who is there, what music is playing, what conversations are people having."

“My hope is that people are reminded of a special moment that they shared around the table with family or friends.”

Above all, she wants the paintings to feel light. "But above all I hope my paintings bring joy to others," she says. "They are designed to be lighthearted, playful and not taken too seriously."

The recurring threads are nostalgia and a little mischief. "I always seem to go back to themes of nostalgia, I have a lot of memories of food from childhood, as we all do, so naturally that comes out in my work," Symis says. "Also I like to play around with contrasts, occasionally I add an element of disgust or peculiarity amongst an otherwise pleasant composition."