Painter depicts politicians including Keir Starmer in the form of plants
A painter who feels “a strong emotional reaction to colour” has depicted politicians including the Prime Minister as plants.
Emily Powell, 34, has synaesthesia, a perceptual phenomenon which causes her to see the world through the lens of colour.
“Building a colour profile in my mind is how I make sense of people,” she told the PA news agency.
“As I get to know them more shades and colours are added.”
Ms Powell, who is a political podcast enthusiast and has a particular fondness for Newscast and The Rest Is Politics, said she depicted the Prime Minister as a plant in a “sensible pot” to represent his practical nature.
“I listen to a lot about him so then you pick up a read on how he’s presenting himself to the general public and I feel like he hasn’t burst into flower yet,” she said.
Ms Rayner has been likened to flowers, with Ms Powell saying the “bright clashing tones” signal that she is “full of life”, while Lady Thatcher is seen as a bouquet in a lofty vase.
Neon pink features in the Thatcher piece to illustrate her “ambition and that slight feeling of alarm”, with dark blue and charcoal grey representing her links to the closure of coal mines and the feeling of unhappiness.
“If you get a good shade of pink next to a good shade of green, it just sends off fireworks in my brain,” she added.
“I get such a strong emotional reaction to colour that if I get the right colour combination and the right balance, it’s addictive.”
She said she has a particular fondness for pink and yellow as they are often associated with “warmth”.
Ms Powell will be showcasing a series of bold floral works celebrating the arrival of spring at London’s Portland Gallery from February 20 to March 7 in an exhibit called Emily Powell: Paintings on Prescription.
“It’s all about offering colour as a medicine, and an antidote to grey,” she said.
“It’s not a flat exhibition, it’s very dynamic and it’s all about feeling.”
She said a piece called “He Bought Her The Whole Florist”, which will feature at the exhibit, really “stands out”.
“It’s got a lot of fresh apples in it and it’s just wild, happy, abundant, I completely haven’t held back,” she added.
The political portraits will also be on show on request.