Lex Thomas (b. London 1972) gained a BA degree in Social Science at the University of Greenwich before studying Fine Art for three years at the University of the West of England followed by a Postgraduate Diploma at Chelsea College of Art. Since then she has exhibited in Europe and the States and widely throughout the UK including at the Royal Academy of Art’s Summer Exhibition, the Mall Galleries and Orleans House Gallery. She has been shortlisted for the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize, the Rising Stars Prize and won third place in the Woolgather Art Prize. She has work in private collections in the UK, USA and Germany.
Lex Thomas’s work is an ongoing survey around the idea of belief. An interest in the unreliability of reality drives this, as well as the fictions man has created in order to deal with his existential predicament and in his quest for an essential truth. From investigations into magico-religious practices and spaceship cults through to unexplained natural phenomena such as the supernatural and paranormal Thomas enquires into the mysteries of the human psyche.
Working in series, often referencing collage and photography, Thomas’ work suggests a metaphysical and otherworldly timelessness. A recent series of drawings was inspired by the ‘Prisoner’s Cinema’ phenomena whereby those confined in dark cells for long periods report visual hallucinations. The sensory deprivation and psychological strain cause a blurring of reality with the outpourings of the soul. In attempting to reveal this inner space Thomas combined elements of chance with subconscious association and automatism.