Nicola Slattery Artist Statement: The subject is almost exclusively figurative and sometimes inspired by fiction or myth and frequently by events or emotions experienced or imagined. I am told that there is a hard to define but universally recognised element within each image that draws the viewer back to look again and again and I hope that this is true. In a world obsessed with analysis and interpretation, especially in relation to art, I do not want to be drawn into providing ready made answers to any questions that my work provokes. I am clear that realism is not what it is about. I simply want to create images which lend serenity and thoughtfulness and which allow any meaning to emerge for the viewer themselves. This meaning will vary from person to person and even from day to day for the same person as their moods change.