Wellspring: Sylvie Kettle

Sylvie Kettle’s work is rooted in a search for meaning that reaches beyond language. Trained initially in realist botanical drawing, Kettle’s practice has evolved into an intuitive exploration of the human figure, symbolism, and the natural world. Her paintings inhabit a space between memory and imagination, inviting the viewer into a visual language of emotion, where feeling is conveyed through symbol and atmosphere rather than narrative or speech.

At the heart of Kettle’s practice is the belief that symbolic imagery has the power to communicate emotion in ways that words cannot. Her early research into ancient languages, particularly Aramaic, an ancient Semitic language dating back three millenia, revealed a poetic depth to each word - where every syllable paints a picture. This understanding of language as fundamentally visual continues to inform her work today, where fruit, flowers, sun, and water recur not just as motifs but as expedients to express complex and positive emotional states. These images transcend linguistic boundaries, resonating with something innate and ancestral - a symbolic language that humans instinctively understand.