Feeling Blue?

Cory McLellan, a mixed media artist from Coventry, primarily focuses on coping with the aftermath of adverse life events and the emotions that come alongside in his practice. 

Whether working with video, collage or photography - Cory’s work is raw and emotive; a visual representation of difficult situations and his own subjective experiences with childhood trauma, usually accompanied by scrawled musings, old train tickets and wonky stars. After experiencing abuse from a young age, Cory found comfort in drawing early in life, and he found that his art contextualised what couldn’t be said with words.

Being neurodivergent; he found it easier to understand what he was feeling if it took the form of something visual, and thus his creative practice initially began as a form of communication. His practice is still very similar. Whether concerning his experiences with addiction, sexual assault or coming out - Cory’s art is a raw, undivided way of processing the hurt surrounding his past. With each piece Cory learns more about himself, his previous experiences, and his outlook on life today. His work is very crowded at first glance; but when looking closer small details come to light; scratches into thick paint, old medication side-effect leaflets, and overexposed darkroom prints are a few examples of elements that make his art feel human, in it’s own unkempt, raunchy way.