The meaning of Ray:
I call myself Ray because as a child I felt alone due to all the neglect and abuse. It’s shouting out that I am here because I felt invisible as a child, I had no voice.
It’s my own identity. It’s not defined by the past. To recognise that the past has brought me to a place where it is not tarnishing me. I am a different person. It’s about me being in control of me; not being controlled by anyone else.
Ray is my own identity. It’s about not being a Mum, a wife, a Grandmother, a victim of childhood trauma.
Ray
Ray’s work stems from her childhood memories of living and growing up in foster care and children’s homes. Exploring these memories through her art enables her to confront adverse childhood experiences and begin the healing process. She uses her love of different materials, their textures and tactile nature to convey the juxtaposition of the surface appearance – the face we show the world – and the internal decay and damage - the truth we hide from the world. Ray began to explore these themes through monochrome painting developing into sculptural forms and installations and later introducing a limited colour palette of blues, orange, green, yellow, to add power to the process of recovery.
As when a first aider applies a plaster or bandage to begin the healing process some wounds heal but others run deeper and fester, so Ray’s art has led her to find healing in some areas and in others has merely highlighted deeper wounds to her spirit from the physical, verbal and sexual abuse she endured. This process is ongoing and is a constant source of inspiration and practice.
Ray shares her practice with others through workshops, exhibitions and in 2025 successfully finished an Arts Council Grant by putting on a solo exhibition in Barnstable. Further information about Ray’s practice can be found on her website, instagram and Facebook.
