Alexandra Hayes is a third year BA student of Fine Art at City and Guilds of London Art School. She has been the assistant for the creation of this online show.

ALEXANDRA HAYES
I am fascinated by how belief systems come to be significant today and in history. In my work, I draw comparisons between how religion, myth, news etc. use visual imagery to inform or persuade the viewer. We can be bombarded with information now through news and social media in ways that may feel like propaganda and make fact and fiction seem interchangeable. For example, news can be called ‘fake’ and climate change contested. I’ve used articles about jellyfish ‘taking over the world’ as a way to make links to important issues today. I also look at historical art that has the purpose to convince or convert. Initially, I resonated with Christian icons, buildings and altarpieces. Frequently, these have an opulence, confidence and visual complexity that is designed to impress the viewer. Grand structures throughout history are supposed to inspire trust, but can also feel like a front for something false. I use religious iconography, Greek mythology and images of kings and queens as a tribute from the past to our current time when our opinions are no longer limited to being shaped by these authorities which previously had a monopoly on political, religious and moral narratives. Now we have information constantly at our fingertips in the form of the internet, yet here it is not safe from bias or manipulation either.