'The past is the one thing we are not prisoners of.' (Berger)

 

Kelly's paintings explore the lived history of her/a post-war working class Liverpool family. Drawing specifically on the lived experience of her grandfather, at one time a soldier, a taxi driver and small business owner, Kelly’s neo-surrealist paintings offer a striking reimagining of time, memory and loss. 

Spanning the period of time between the post-war consensus and its gradual dismantling by the Thatcher government and inspired by post-war figurative painters such as De Chirico, Magritte and Morley, Kelly’s sensitive and off-beat images provide an evocative representation of life in a time of war, social upheaval and the ultimate breaking down of the individual’s sense of self and place.