Graceland London
Spotlight on the Shadows | 2024

Birth name Grace McCalla, her art truly transports you to a world of its own – hence, Graceland London.

Graceland London sees her paintings as faceless self-portraits, highlighting the strength, darker beauty and resilience of women, whilst tackling emotions and themes that everyone can connect with, no matter who they are.

The collection’s title, Spotlight on the Shadows, reflects Graceland London’s interest in the natural duality of life and the idea of ‘sonder’, the realisation that everyone you see has a life as full and complex as your own.

With an assorted melting pot of inspiration, from Italian renaissance, surrealism and fifteenth-century Flemish paintings to street art, B-movies, americana and the continued saturation of pop culture, her artwork is created to be explored and dissected by the viewer.

Featured Art: 'Playground'. A Hand-signed Mixed Media Limited Edition Artwork by Graceland London.

Her worlds are furnished with an array of objects and phrases, creating a treasure trove of cryptic clues and characters.

The skull, the egg, the leading femme fatale; all familiar iconography seen throughout art history, from the old masters to contemporary pop art, but Graceland London uses them differently.

While whole eggs have traditionally been featured to represent optimism and new life, Graceland London inverts this tradition by presenting surrealist-style fried eggs with golden yellow or acid green yolks as a poignant metaphor for how identities and perceptions are moulded by society’s expectations and norms.

Featured Art: 'Cwarantine'. A Hand-signed Mixed Media Limited Edition Artwork by Graceland London.

Drawing from art history’s biblical tapestry and blending it with modern-day digital techniques, Graceland London creates something totally unique, bridging the gap between age old and modern techniques.

Her complex worlds are represented in a 2D universe using acrylic paint and bold black lines. Graceland London carefully removes brushstrokes to create a completely flat plane, before adding a single oil-painted motif to each piece. With careful use of shading and meticulous attention to detail, she renders this individual object in almost photorealistic depth, appearing in stark contrast to the rest of the scene.

“What I’m interested in is making people look closer. I want them to be caught off guard. I want them to ask ‘What does that mean?’”.

Featured Art: 'There Is Only You'. A Hand-signed Mixed Media Limited Edition Artwork by Graceland London.