About Michelle Cobbin - Inspiration & Influences

Artist Statement

Michelle Cobbin is a Brighton based painter who grew up in Lakenheath, Suffolk. She is known for her beautiful, colourful, abstract paintings that have a meditative quality. Her recent work - still very colourful, has also been about US airbases in the UK and weapons of war. She sees both of these strands of her practice as being connected through a desire for peace - inner and outer.

The aspiration to create more overtly political work had lingered for several years, and working with Turps Hastings from 2023 - 25, provided the support to take a step in that direction. In 2023, the news that nuclear weapons would be returning to (US)RAF Lakenheath airbase, prompted Michelle to create a new series of work about growing up near that airbase.

These paintings drew on her memories of living near the base during the Cold War, a time when nuclear weaponry was a more socially prominent issue – all the more so in Lakenheath with the relentless noise of fighter jets flying overhead. This series employs child-like imagery to explore the emotional and societal impacts of militarisation, and seeks to offer a poignant perspective on the interface of war and peace.

Her current work is an exploration into contemporary activities at Lakenheath airbase and further afield, as the airbase is involved in ongoing wars. Her work reflects her time at the Lakenheath Alliance for Peace camps and vigils outside of (US)RAF Lakenehath airbase, as seen in her film ‘In Plane Sight’ and in her new paintings which often depict rabbits or pets as silent witness to military activity.