About
Pernilla Iggstrom is a Swedish visual artist, who lives and works in Essex. She was born in Korea, grew up in Sweden, and has lived overseas for over 23 years. Pernilla worked many years in the corporate and entrepreneurial environment both in Europe and Asia before she realised her childhood dream of being an artist. In 2011 she completed her BA (Hons) in Fine Art Painting from City & Guilds of London Art School.
Pernilla’s art practice is influenced by her multicultural background - she is interested in the sociocultural element and explores the notions of identity through her work. The starting point is usually photos from her family albums. ‘The painting process allows me to expand the potential of my ideas – reducing some of the overly specific imagery to something more universally accessible. My personal story is of course core, as it motivated my investigations into notions of identity, but there are also far reaching aspects to what I am saying that I want to address.’
The communication between the interior and exterior, the past and the present, and the physical and the psychological, are key elements which tension is expressed in the contrasts between the flat colour ground and the impasto oil paint. The paint becomes skin, a porous membrane that communicates between the inner and outer self.
Pernilla's work can be found in public and private collections in England, Sweden and USA.