A Moment to Hold with brunelle dias
Photographed by Ophelia Jones with support from The Black & White Box.
In the spirit of A Moment to Hold, this series pauses to capture a point in the lives and careers of three artists whose works feature in the exhibition—Ruby Wilkinson, Hannah Ireland & brunelle dias. Photographed by Ophelia Jones and paired with reflections on their practice, the series gently spotlights the artists as they are now, while preserving this moment as part of the exhibition’s archive.
This interview series was kindly supported by The Black & White Box.
February 7 2026brunelle dias
“The nature of painting reminds me to reflect, not ruminate, to hold onto the brush lightly, to caress the skin of the canvas and to ask, “Where is God in all of this?”
Tell us a little about your background as an artist. How has your practice evolved to where it is now?
As someone whose natural posture is to observe, it is no surprise that I gravitated towards the steady reflective companionship of painting.
Grounded in my interest to understand the relationship between figure and ground, body and environment, the fluid material of paint communicates the often blurred relationship between the subject and the context. Each painting holds a different temperament and sensation unique to each composition and painterly relationship.
My practice has evolved immensely over the last decade in several ways. A turning point in my practice was when I leaned towards painting ‘what I see’ as opposed to ‘what I believe’. Working in a ‘painting-led’ process led me to work intuitively instead of illustratively.
brunelle dias, who moved my cheese? and girl, so confusing, 2025.
brunelle dias, girl, so confusing (detail), 2025.
A Moment to Hold is shaped by memory and lived experience. How does painting influence the way you remember or understand moments from your life?
Through the process of representing aspects of my reality in my figurative practice, whether they be objects, or people or working with symbols, like distinct colours these figures operate as signifiers for my lived experiences.
Often diaristic, my paintings capture fleeting feelings and afterthoughts of conversations and other unofficial observations. Visual cues of the temperament they hold are suggested through unorthodox compositional angles or thinned out paint. They create a sense of transiency akin to the sensation of memory. The nature of painting reminds me to reflect, not ruminate, to hold onto the brush lightly, to caress the skin of the canvas and to ask, “Where is God in all of this?”
Tell us about your works featured in A Moment to Hold. How do they relate to ideas of memory, are they born from specific memories?
‘who moved my cheese?’ and ‘girl, so confusing’ are part of a triptych painting series which refer to a Christmas dinner at a family gathering. These deeply personal works refer to my acceptance of the joys and discomforts of togetherness. ‘posture of confession’ holds a similar sentiment. The three paintings refer to elements of biblical communion, such as the The Last Supper and finding grace in the ordinary.
My practice tends to be embedded in the present. Being present needn't be giving up the past or recollections of it. Rather, my work acknowledges the context of personal and collective memory, history and parables and notices its cyclical nature sometimes felt in the present.
brunelle dias, posture of confession, 2025.
Who is the you of now, both as an artist and a person? What would you like to remember about this moment in time?
As a painter, I feel closer to having childlike wonder and awe. I want to learn everything there is to know about paint, I am a student. It is a sensibility that I hope influences my approach to life in general.
Ironically, in my current season, what I will remember from it, is that I'm in the midst of practicing surrendering and letting go. Perhaps, it’s a divine intervention responding to my desire to being child-like, first and foremostly teaching me accept things that I cannot control.
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A Moment to Hold is on view at The Arts House Trust 20 November 2025 – 1 March 2026.
Hannah Ireland, brunelle dias and Ruby Wilkinson. February 2026.
brunelle dias, posture of confession, 2025 in A Moment to Hold. Photographed by Sam Hartnett.