Short Statement:

Latchford’s painting practice, explores the theme of memory. She grew up by the sea and it has always played a large part in her life -and is around which many of her memories are based. Working mainily in oils on canvas or wood panels, she uses both old and new family photographs as source images.

Family loss, erosion of memories and concerns about climate change have informed recent work. Seemingly unconnected areas of research yet each serve as a metaphor for the other. Latchford’s aim is to create paintings that evoke emotional responses while emphasing the urgency of addressing climate change and preserving our seas and coastlines.

The following is an excerpt from a piece written by Art Historian/Curator Catherine Marshall about Latchford’s solo show SPF50. It appeared in Visual Artists Newsletter in Febuary 2023: (They referring to her paintings)

“Was childhood ever really as good as this, they seem to ask? Did the sun always shine or is this a trick of our minds? And what about the blurring of the sunburned bodies in the water now? As the title of the show reminds us, we now need protection from the sun in ways that our parents never expected, just as our memories need the artist’s protection to preserve them for us.”

Her work has been predominately figurative however since late 2023 she has experimented with abstraction. The figurative and the abstract united by theme, colour and line.

Latchford’s paintings are in collections in Ireland, Europe, USA and Hong Kong.She was selected for Wexford Arts Centre’s MAKEcurate programme 2022. As part of that had a conversation about her practice in front of an audience, as part of her show SPF 50, with curator and art historian Catherine Marshall. You can see it here https://youtu.be/0goLoCYNJjE