Alison Bignon

Alison Bignon is a classically-trained actress, theatre director and visual artist, known for her method of making abstract portraits that depict the real-life stories of her sitters.

Her process involves extended dialogue with subjects, sometimes lasting several weeks, followed by studio work translating emotions into detailed graphic pieces. She employs traditional engraving techniques including dry point, burin, etchings and embossing, then hand-finishes with watercolour, pencil and pen-and-ink. Additional mediums include video, painting and writing.

Each work often includes accompanying video recordings or poetry in which she performs monologues based on the subject's story. Her overarching goal is archival and commemorative: to archive the individual stories of her sitters, and in doing so give them a "nurturing" place in history, a return to more empathetic art forms, which she believes are crucial in society.