Life with the Lions, 2020

Clare Woods RA (b. 1972)

RA Collection: Art

Life with the Lions is based on a photograph of the artist’s cat climbing on her, transformed into an image that conjures complex emotions. The artist’s blue eyes and blond hair are visible upper left, her face partly obscured by the abstract feline shape.The cat’s head nestles against her cheek, its tail curls behind her head.

The bleached-out quality of the original photographic source distorts visual detail almost beyond recognition.Woods exploits the tension between pictorial image and the physical properties of the artwork, with paint mixed and manipulated on the smooth aluminium surface.

The title comes from a 1988 Billy Bragg song. As the artist explains: ‘It’s a song about how being with someone can change the way you are. It’s about being present but detached, a feeling of suffocation by responsibilities and expectations.’