Ana Bates
**Stem Arch Murmur/ The Road Goes Inwards** is a series of drawings that interpret an emotional response to interactions with the sublime. This body of work is the culmination of research into a post-modern evaluation of Edmund Burke’s **Philosophical Encounter**, in which the foundation for this experience is a deep state of recognizing. Ana utilizes a somatic drawing practice to realize dream-like images that are both delicate and surreal. Each drawing captures an atmosphere or sensation, guiding that which is real to represent the intangible. Soft forms and vibrant washes of colour invite the viewer to consider their own relationship with the Sublime; the intentionally ambiguous nature of the work allows for the intimate to be universal.
"We little know the depths of our own mind. The mysterious road goes inwards. Eternity with its worlds, the past and the future, is in us or nowhere."
Ana Bates is an emerging visual artist based between Dublin and Wexford, whose work depicts encounters with the Sublime – a philosophical aesthetic concept describing the sense of awe, terror, and admiration in the face of immense greatness. Ana is a practice-based artist; her work is shaped by her deep engagement with drawing materials, alongside the interpretation of felt experience through somatic drawing exercises. Recent exhibitions include **Fractal** at Powerscourt Townhouse (2024) and **Mud Between the Toes** at Pallas Projects (2025).
