'Dressed Down' depicts a single black lighter, isolated against the canvas at a scale that lends the object unexpected weight. The work forms part of Newlove’s broader practice, which examines identity as something performed rather than fixed, constructed through the everyday objects, images and desires that shape contemporary life. Indifferent to class or status, the lighter stops being simply functional when singled out, becoming a symbol of the ways we project, romanticise and build versions of ourselves.

Ellis Newlove is a multidisciplinary artist working across painting,