Nigella Leslie profile photo
I'm a Leeds-based multidisciplinary artist whose discipline explores the human mind and how it can be expressed through the fragility of soft pastel work and other media that support the development of my practice.

FLUX Series

About My Work

Within the multitude of contorted portraits, my practice explores the idea of a person in flux using surreal distortion and psychologically charged forms. The work investigates the tension between one’s internal and external identity, focusing on the way people suppress their emotion and conceal certain aspects of themselves by altering one’s behaviour in response to social pressure, anxiety and internalised judgement. Through the repetitive forms, my aim is to visualise the constant hidden restraint and psychological stress that occurs when identity is constantly challenged and fragmented by others and how that affect can be perceived within these physically malleable characters.

‘Untitled’ (2026) [Soft pastel on paper]
‘Untitled’ (2026) [Soft pastel on paper]