Carys Reilly is a contemporary artist living in Glasgow. Her practice combines drawing, sculpture, photography and body art. Her work is influenced by the 'Pictures Generation' artists, and the radical narcissism of 1970s feminist performance. The narratives of her practice are shaped by her own experience of chronic illness, neurodivergence, and a fascination with historical texts on hysteria.
Carys graduated from Winchester School of Art in 2015, specialising in woven textiles. Her BA collections integrated sculpture, illustration, typography and weaving to create immersive worlds and narratives critiquing contemporary attitudes towards women and mental illness. She then went on to study at the Royal College of Art, graduating with a Masters degree in Textiles in 2017. Here she further developed her sculptural pieces and her flair for melodrama and performance, expanding on her exploration of femininity and chronic illness. Carys has worked with several artist collectives, including Womanstanley, Outside In and Sweet ‘Arts. Her piece The Hermit, The Waif, The Witch and The Queen has been exhibited in America and Vietnam, as part of an International Art Exchange with Sweet ‘Arts.