Cathy Lomax

She is mainly known for her figurative paintings which often focus on the construction, codification and subversion of femininity and are inspired by 'the seductive imagery of film, fame and fashion'.

She moved to London in 1983 and worked as a makeup artist with photographers such as Juergen Teller, Craig McDean and Corinne Day for I-D,[2] The Face and Vogue.

[5] The prize included a solo exhibition at Swindon Museum and Art Gallery, the subsequent show 'The Blind Spot' was reviewed by Matt Price in The Anomie Review of Contemporary British Painting[6], and Adors, a painting inspired by the Swindon born actress Diana Dors was acquired for the gallery's collection.

The second part of a prize was a commissioned essay which was written by academic Paul O'Kane and published in The Journal of Visual Art Practice[7] Much of Lomax's art is connected to images from film and she has produced cover artwork for three BFI Film Classic books, including Picnic at Hanging Rock by Anna Backman Rogers[8] and Mädchen in Uniform by Barbara Mennel.

[10] Published writing includes: 'Ghostly threads: Painting Marilyn Monroe's white dresses', Film, Fashion & Consumption, 2015,[11] 'Makeup as Dark Magic: The Love Witch and the Subversive Female Gaze', Frames Cinema Journal (2019),[12] 'Kirsten Glass: Swimming Witches', Karsten Schubert London catalogue essay (2020),[2] 'Girlfriends' a review of the Criterion Collection Blu-Ray, Open Screens Journal (2022)[13] Her book 'Making Up the Star: Makeup, Femininity, Race and Ageing' will be published by BFI/Bloomsbury in 2026.