Sunneva Ása Weisshappel is an Icelandic artist based in London, whose work interrogates what it means to be human in a material and materialistic, world.
Through strange and forceful combinations of materials, she transforms collections of found objects into complex, multi-layered canvases. From delicate textiles conjuring ghostly shapes of female bodies, to hair, teeth and wax evoking the texture of human skin, her works extend beyond the two-dimensional canvas, loaded with cultural and symbolic meaning. She compares her paintings to human beings: ‘complex, beautiful, ugly, multifaceted, full of contrasts, mistakes, feelings, and contradictions’.
Weisshappel's highly personal artistic practice touches upon universal and autobiographical themes. In addition to working with installation and video art, Weisshappel primarily focuses on painting and performance, which combine in her present body of work to explore what is possible in the act of painting.