Split Vision by Lydia Merrett

Lydia Merrett lives and works in Manchester, UK. Following a BA in Fine Art at Goldsmiths, she graduated with an MFA in Painting from the Slade School of Fine Art, in 2023, winning the Almacantar Studio Award and The Terence Cuneo Memorial Trust prize for painting. Her work has been exhibited across the UK and, in 2024, she presented an online exhibition with Unit London and realised her first international exhibition in Seoul with LKIF Gallery. She continues to develop and exhibit her work.

Split Vision draws on my experience of double vision and the optical distortions that occur during migraine episodes. Made on a small, hand-held scale, the work feels intimate and personal, reflecting the vulnerability of these experiences. Using photographs of myself as a starting point, I build layered, fractured surfaces to evoke optical confusion, instability, and dissociation.