MUNTHE ART MONDAY: BOBBYE FERMIE

Please introduce yourself and tell us about what you do.

My name is Bobbye Fermie, I’m a Dutch artist living in London, mainly working in painting and collage. I’ve lived in London since studying at the Royal Drawing School in 2014 and I now work in a studio space above a pub!

My practice is an ongoing response to themes of personal boundaries, social anxiety, belonging and duality. I am particularly interested in the intersection of public and private spaces and exploring how cultural archetypes of interiors and homes shape our understanding of what home means. I build my paintings intuitively, layering thin washes of watercolour or acrylic to give them a dreamlike and delicate texture. In the spaces that appear, there’s usually a female figure who interacts with her surroundings, exploring the relationship between her and the environment.

I currently have a solo exhibition at Skitsehandlen in Faaborg, Funen, until the end of October. Most of the works seen in the images here are available through Wilder Gallery.

Can you name some other female (artist) that inspire you and explain why they do so?

Someone I always return to is Mamma Andersson. She is able to create a environment and feeling in her paintings that I hope to one day create as well.

I’m currently looking a lot at France Lise McGurn, her work has a playfulness and confidence I very much admire. Anne Rothenstein and Chioma Ebinama are two other artists I’m inspired by at the moment, for their dreamlike storytelling.

What has been the most challenging aspect of being a woman in the arts?

For me personally it is a lack of confidence and my imposter syndrome that I recognise in more women. I once read that women are more likely to not apply for a job, because they miss one or two or the skills they are required to have, whereas a man would be much more likely to to apply for it anyway, even if they miss most of the skills required.

Can you explain more about how being a woman has affected your career?

I think I’ve been lucky enough to be working in a time where women artist are being championed more than ever before. There’s is of course a lot that still needs to change.

I remember a couple of years ago when I visited an exhibition that showed the painters of today. All the painters in the show were male, and I remember thinking, “Well this sends out a the wrong message!”

There are so many amazing women led galleries and organisations who support female artists nowadays though, and I have definitely seen a rise in female artist representation in galleries and museums.

Bobbye is wearing Tahuma.

What would you like people to notice in your artwork?

I hope people will find a sense of solace in my artwork. And hopefully, the viewer will reflect on the relationship between the female figure and her surroundings. Maybe questions arise: Does she belong here? Is she confidently taking up space, or would she rather not be seen?

Bobbye is wearing Tahuma.