Niamh Rowlands and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Words & Interview, Molly Kelland
Wrexham born Fine Art graduate Niamh Rowlands is a painter and screen-printer who alludes to the now in her practice. She currently resides in her hometown but travelled to Liverpool to study Fine Art at Liverpool John Moores University.
She felt that the time she spent studying in Liverpool, transformed her a lot as a person. The art scene was vibrant and constantly growing, changing, and evolving. Much different to what she was used to back home. Despite this, she shares:
“My background does connect to my practice. Especially in the present, it took me some time to realise that all the work I have done links to my childhood, background, and identity.”
Soup of the Night (2022) was created during Rowlands final year at LJMU. She states:
“I made it in response to a meme I saw on Twitter that day. It made me laugh, so I tried to mimic the text that is in the image. It truly was a subconscious very quick painting that turned out to be one of the most successful pieces in my third year.”
The spontaneity of the piece certainly comes across, I find it intriguing yet eerie. Rowland’s preference for working on large scale emanates from her ability to muster a more energetic creative experience. Similar to the methods of the abstract expressionists, the method of creation seems equally important to her practice.
Rowland enjoys incorporating memes, trends, and slogans into her practice. In one of her paintings, Rowland focuses on ‘Big Chungus’, a meme from 2018 that refers to a fat version of the Loony Tunes’ Bugs Bunny character. Rowland explains:
“That theme of humour where it doesn’t make any sense is hilarious to me. Dadaism was a big influence for some of my work, as my sense of humour and what makes me laugh is kind of rooted in the art practice of Dadaism.”
She includes the Welsh language in this piece with “beth syddifyny gwerin?” translating to “what’s up folks?” in English. Bugs Bunny’s signature catchphrase.
Rowland then tells me about, who I consider a modern Dadaist, Jamian Juliano-Villani’s work, and how her practice inspired her throughout her second year of University at LJMU. She says:
“her work is humorous, dark and has very similar themes to my own practice.”
The exploration into memes, aesthetics, and trends highlight the interests of a generation. The love of ‘categorising’ and fitting into a ‘clique’ or ‘subculture.’ The younger generations fit themselves into these ‘categories’ by finding their aesthetic or sharing memes. By delving into this theme in the form of painting, Rowland experiments with the art of symbolistic non-human self-portraits. She shares:
“‘Aesthetic’ has been a big part of my creative journey. I have been drawn to pop culture, trends, and micro trends all my life. It goes extremely deep with me. I know now as a 23-year-old that this way of thinking has affected me in negative and positive ways, but I also subconsciously put this way of thinking into the process of creating pieces of work. I call each piece of my work a self-portrait, as each one is always a part of me and shows where I stand mentally, physically, my likes, my interests, and clear influences.”
Growing up in a rural Welsh community explains her obsessions with media in her practice. She shares:
“I consumed a lot of American reality television from a young age, The Real Housewives franchise, Vanderpump Rules, Millionaire Matchmaker the list goes on. The multitude of cultures, and chaos that I have been lucky to witness when I have visited the States myself, that place is its own world/universe in itself. I want to portray the comfort that (for example) The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills gives me in my work, it’s nostalgia for me.”
Growing up in a secluded countryside area myself, I find myself relating to what Rowlands is telling me. I remember absorbing adverts and TV shows like a sponge, imitating American accents until my parents could no longer hack it. Rowlands’ practice is nostalgic, in the sense that it reminds me of when I first got my hands on the internet when I was around 11 years old. Her painted collages create an overstimulating reminder of the sheer volume of content we, as a generation, have been fed during our formative years and beyond. It is fascinating and thought-provoking.
The wavey, sharp, and stippled textures throughout Rowlands’ portfolio levels the visual balance of the contexts of her practice. It creates a ‘deep fried’ effect, this meme term alludes to a style of meme that has been overrun with filters to the point where it becomes pixelated. Rowlandss tells me about her experiences with paint texture, by expressing:
“I love to explore what I can do with paint, the more marks I make on my canvas, board etc, the more organic the mark looks, and that’s the result I want. The actual quality of the paint matters to me as well, I am a lover of using thick paint, or I’ll add things to thinner paint to make it thick. When applied, the paint has an energy to it when thicker bodied, it brings life to the context of my work. I have certain colour palettes that I prefer to use too, usually darker colours, or I will make a brighter colour darker. Darker colours hold more character in a piece of work.”
Screen-print, I Only Worry About Three Things (2022), again stems from internet meme culture. Rowlands has struggled with her mental health for a while and has found that it almost always weaves its way into her practice. She states:
“It is meant to be funny and relatable, but I guess the dark undertones to it are about my mental health issues.”
The slogans she uses generates an opportunity for her audience to investigate her work, to decode it, and find a way in which to relate to it. Rowlands chosen fonts and texts are remarkably eye catching. Her screen-printed slogan work is so crisp and effective in its efforts of communication. Rowland tells me about her fondness of screen-printing by saying:
“I always say I am a painter, as that is what I lean towards and go for every time I have a want or need to create. I do enjoy the process and outcome of screen-printing too,”
She continues, telling me about the process of making I Only Worry About Three Things (2022), saying:
“Screen-print gives me more structure, it is a more sophisticated method/outcome of working for myself compared to me painting. There are some unintentional mistakes you can see in the piece, which I decided to keep in, as I love that with screen print it can alter how much control you have over the outcome of the image. The mistakes add character to the piece, context to the narrative. I did use the equipment in the print room for this, such as the flatbed UV machine to get the text how I wanted it, and I used a framing screen for the block of colour you see in the background of the piece, I wanted to go down a more minimal route for this piece which is also different for me creatively.”
Rowlands’ work is based on identity. It is always admirable to see people embracing their heritage, so Niamh Rowlands’ inclusions of her Wrexhem upbringing only strengthens her practice. She articulates:
“I will always link my work to my upbringing in Wales, I took time in my third year of University to relearn stories, folktales, memories I once knew as a young girl in Wales. This is what I will continue to delve into with my practice now as it’s a part of me, and a part of a Welsh upbringing and culture I want viewers of my work to know about. Welsh culture, and history is overlooked or unknown and it’s too beautiful to be left in the dark.”
Niamh Rowlands and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Words & Interview, Molly Kelland