Sara Birns, creates surreal, often grotesque, portraits which aim to depict humans’ constantly changing nature. Amalgamating several figures, typically friends and family, into one new person, Birns illustrates how due to time and events it is impossible to grasp a person’s full character in a single image.

Tampering and morphing the cues that we usually use to recognise one another; Birns obscures any notion of age. Through this the artist uncovers the layers of ever-changing emotions everyone experiences in single moments, as we journey to explore ourselves and our influences on this planet.

Birns has noted of her practice, “I like to tamper and morph the cues that we usually use to recognise a person [....] Cues such as style, facial features, expressions, and occasionally glimpses into a situation they are in. Human nature is constantly evolving and changing with time and events, equating to the impossibility of fully grasping a person’s character. This is the reason I morph the figures, often obscuring the age.”

Sara Birns (b. 1992) graduated from the University of Oregon in 2014 and now lives and works in Paris. Her work has been exhibited throughout the US and internationally, both in solo and group shows. Most recently in Episode I: Bump by Matt-Carey Williams, No.9 Cork Street, London, UK (2024), Fluuuuuuido, Cassina Projects, Milan, IT (2022) and Girl Talk, Palazzo Monti Artist Residency, Brescia, IT (2022), Explorers of the Garden Planet, Richard Heller Gallery, Santa Monica, CA (2022); Blips in Matter, Postmasters ROMA Gallery, Rome, IT (2021) and Sara Birns Debut, Richard Heller Gallery, Santa Monica, CA (2020). Birns’ work is also part of several public collections, including the Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection, USA and The Christine & Andy Hall Collection, USA.