Art by Paula Maxwell

Paula Maxwell is a contemporary fine artist based in Bournemouth, with a passion for 90’s rave and festivals. You can find her in a field, listening to music whilst dancing and laughing with friends. Paula’s work captures a moment and attempts to take you there, portraying "the nights one normally forgets.”

Paula completed an MA in Painting in 2024, at the Arts University Bournemouth, gaining a distinction. Her work demonstrates a desire to revisit and communicate the vast array of experiences gained through the lens of music, from the late 1980’s Acid House movement, 1990’s rave scene and festivals, right up to the present day, looking at the connections between rave and festival culture with a focus on euphoria, hedonism and spiritualism.

Through the work, she actively attempts to create ambiguity, through drawing on specific photographic images while trying to also complicate, confuse and muddy the image through emotion, memory, references to other artists and the use of the paint itself. Paintings rely on the representation of lights and shadows to reflect the high energy, audio, visual and psychological aspects of rave and festivals.