I Am Not The One, 2021

Rosalie Oakman is primarily interested in exploring the human body and sexuality through her artwork. After completing a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts at Les Beaux Arts d’Angers in France, she pursued an MA in Textile Design at the University of the Arts London, where she specialized in sustainable textile design. She was awarded the Moorhouse Scholarship and the BADA Art Prize.

She eventually turned to painting and textile art as mediums for expressing her interests in anatomy, psychology, sexuality, and mortality. Her work is influenced by artists such as Egon Schiele, Jenny Saville, Lucian Freud, and František Kupka. She often works from life, drawing and painting people in her sketchbooks to better understand the relationships we have with our bodies, minds, and emotions.

She uses a variety of materials in her art, ranging from intuitive, abstract studies to emotionally charged oil and acrylic paintings and watercolors. Her goal is to celebrate what it means to be human through her artwork and to explore the complex, multifaceted nature of human identity.

In her own words, ‘I want to understand as much as I can about what it means to be human and sexuality. We are not just the image we present to the world. We are the minds and bodies that we inhabit. There are aspects that connect us all and we are also unique individuals. I moved into drawing and painting people because it is a celebration of this.’