I was reading on BBC’s website this morning about a rising trend during the pandemic: #cottagecore.
Think: cute cottages nestled in rural settings, a break from the modern madness... hang on a minute! Isn’t that what my current paintings are about?
This is all very interesting, as I hadn’t really realised this might be influenced by a growing need for something on a large scale.
Much like the trend for hygge and other ways of slowing down and logging off, escaping the rat race is increasingly on people’s minds.
When I paint these pictures, I’m creating a space that I wish existed. A safe haven full of awe and wonderment, where job stresses and critical opinions aren’t applicable. Up till now I thought this was mainly to do with my own upbringing, where we travelled around a lot and schooling/finding employment was stressful for me. However, I’ll be watching this trend with interest, as it represents something larger than myself. A cultural
longing.
At the heart of it, I wonder how much will pass once people are out of lockdown and not feeling so trapped, in need of space and air. Trends are fine for a while, but they do fade.
In the meantime, I’ll be exploring this idea of the rural ideal (particularly in relation to Queensland homes) and seeing where it goes.
As with all successful art, relying on what’s guiding you personally is the way forward, rather than listening to trends. But we don’t work in bubbles (COVID lockdown related or otherwise). We are influenced, nudged and shoved into new ways of thinking by those near and far, and they ultimately interplay with the work we create.
If you want to read more about it, see the article below, or check out the hashtag #cottagecore on social media.
BBC article link: the rise of the modern rural fantasy