Laura Limbourg (b.1996, Belgium) grew up in the Czech Republic. The main source of Laura’s inspiration is her six-month stay in South East Asia. Her paintings show exotic jungle, religious statues and girls from the streets of the local cities, who are forced to sell their bodies for living. Laura points at the prevalence of prostitution, sex tourism and sexual abuse in Asia.
Despite the obvious harm to the women, they are not depicted as objects, but as strong and confident people, who take refuge from the barbaric men and make friends with the animals in the jungle. There is a lot of symbolism and stories behind the individual paintings, which deserve a closer look.
Laura paints directly on canvas - quickly, immediately and without preparatory sketches. She uses diluted acrylic paints, oil pastels and watercolours. The effect of blurred contours, dustiness and colour transparency contribute to her distinctive style. While the motives seem provocative, they open up serious issues of gender equality, sexual discrimination and women’s rights.