Tazzy Moon’s practice moves between psychological portraiture, magical realism and philosophical enquiry, drawing on questions of identity, embodiment and transformation. Largely self-taught as a painter, Moon brings a formal academic background in philosophy to a visual language shaped by precise linework, saturated colour and recurring gold motifs. Her figures often appear within liminal architectural spaces, from arches and thresholds to symbolic interiors, where the self feels suspended between performance, crisis and renewal.
In this interview for The Flux Review, Moon discusses the dialogue between painting and philosophy, the influence of phenomenology, feminist thought and magical realism, and the development of The Veiled Court, a twenty-two painting cycle set within a symbolic “palace of the psyche”. Through narrative, ornament and psychological charge, her work explores how identity is constructed, destabilised and reassembled over time.
Are you self-taught, or did you undertake formal artistic training?
I am largely self-taught as a painter, though my practice is shaped by a formal academic background. I hold a PhD in Philosophy from UCL, specialising in existentialism, phenomenology, and feminist philosophy. I began painting during my doctoral research as a counterpoint to analytical writing – a way of reaching what language alone couldn’t. Painting and philosophy have remained in close dialogue ever since.
How would you define your visual language or conceptual approach?
My work sits between psychological portraiture and magical realism, centred on questions of identity and embodiment. I use Posca acrylic markers on canvas panel, combining precise linework with saturated, luminous colour. Gold recurs throughout the work as both material and symbol, tracing the performance of selfhood. I’m drawn to liminal architectural spaces – arches, stairwells, thresholds – where figures appear suspended between states.
This language has developed across three bodies of work, each with its own formal register. At its core, my work explores how the figure moves through and resists the structures that contain it, and how identity is shaped, tested and reconfigured over time.
Can you describe your creative process from conception to completion?
My process shifts between intuition and structure. Early works (‘The Flesh’) were driven by instinct, experimenting with medium, colour and form to explore embodiment as lived experience. In Neon Arcana, this became a fast, intuitive series of small-scale acrylic works – twenty-two paintings created in a concentrated period, each centred on a single, symbolic figure.
My current series, The Veiled Court, is more deliberate. Each painting begins with extended research and planning – developing composition, palette, and symbolic elements. The painting process itself then opens into something more exploratory, often revealing meanings that weren’t fully visible at the outset. I think of it as a form of thinking through making.
Does narrative, symbolism, or storytelling play a role within your work?
They are fundamental to the work. The Veiled Court unfolds as a twenty-two painting cycle structured in three acts: self-establishment, crisis, and transformation. The series is set within a symbolic ‘palace of the psyche’, where each figure occupies a distinct psychological and spatial role. As the narrative progresses, both the architecture and the figures begin to shift – moving from stability into fragmentation, and eventually towards reconstruction.
This progression is echoed visually. Gold moves from structured ornament to disruption and fragmentation, before reconstituting in a more complex form. Changes in scale, surface, and spatial logic mirror the emotional arc of the series.
Narrative and symbolism aren’t added – they are the work.
Which artists have most influenced you historically or contemporarily and why?
Historically, the later Pre-Raphaelites – particularly John William Waterhouse and Evelyn de Morgan – have been important for the way their figures feel psychologically charged rather than purely decorative. Gustav Klimt has also been a key influence in his use of gold and his ability to hold tension between surface beauty and inner depth.
Contemporarily, Fatima Ronquillo’s jewel-like portraits of enigmatic, theatrical figures resonate closely with my own interest in identity, performance, and feminine presence. Artists such as Mark Ryden and Marion Peck show how richly symbolic work can remain visually immediate, while Marlene Dumas continues to influence me through the emotional intensity of her mark-making.
What personal, cultural, or environmental influences shape your practice?
My philosophical background remains a central influence, particularly phenomenology’s focus on lived, embodied experience. My work is also shaped by an ongoing negotiation of identity – cultural, personal, and inherited – though this emerges indirectly rather than as explicit narrative. London plays a role too, especially in the architectural language of The Veiled Court, with its mix of grandeur, density, and historical layering.
Where is your studio based, and how does the space inform your creativity?
I work from my dining room in South London. The scale and intimacy of the space closely match the scale of the paintings. There’s something fitting about constructing a psychological interior within a domestic setting – the work is built from the inside out.
Do you have any rituals or rhythms that anchor your studio practice?
Silence is important. It allows for a sustained internal focus while I’m working. Beyond that, the key is simply starting – making the first mark before overthinking can take hold.
What bodies of work or projects are you currently developing?
The Veiled Court is my primary focus. Eleven of the twenty-two paintings are complete, with the full series scheduled for completion in 2028 and intended for a future solo exhibition. Alongside this, Neon Arcana continues as an evolving series of small original paintings, framed in gold.
Where can collectors encounter or acquire your work?
Neon Arcana is available through Corner Gallery in Carshalton and A L’Etage 2 in Crystal Palace. Works from The Flesh and prints from The Veiled Court are available via my website, tazzymoon.com, or through Instagram at @tazzy_moon. Original works from The Veiled Court will be available following the series’ completion.
For more information visit tazzymoon.com. and Instagram