Sophie Spedding

Sophie Spedding’s practice centres on large-scale paintings that explore narratives of romance and sexual violence, examining the value of consent within image-making as a dynamic interplay of perspectives that has evolved into a performative language. Their work balances lo-fi references with a sense of role play, reflecting an interest in process and sentimentality.

Spedding’s paintings engage with themes of disability, sex addiction, ecosexuality, and queerness, all underscored by a core of humour and clowning. The latter is employed post-ironically, serving as a device to ridicule predatory men and subvert traditional power dynamics.

Their work incorporates hyperbolic forms emphatic of the body, bound to narratives of control, sexuality, and abjection. They explore how viewpoint, saturation, and ecology can shape posthuman conceptions of the body, creating speculative spaces that question agency, intimacy, and autonomy.

Based in London, Spedding earned their BA from the Slade School of Fine Art in 2019. They are a recipient of the Tom of Finland Emerging Artist Award and have exhibited both locally and internationally, most recently at Quench in Margate, UK. In 2019, they completed a residency at Palazzo Monti in Brescia, Italy.