Horror films, ghost stories and folklore don't simply exist merely to frighten us - questions are raised about the world around us, morals are intertwined in the narrative and even when you strip down the villains of each tale, they are exaggerated stand-ins for innate human fears. Whether it be the fear of completely losing sight of reality (Jack Torrance in The Shining), being rendered completely helpless (Paul Sheldon vs Annie Wilkes in Misery) or being persecuted by loved ones (Thomasin vs her immediate family in The VVitch), there is always been a very real emotional component that compels the audience on top of terrifying them. 

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Last year in late 2020 I struggled with agoraphobia to the point I could not leave the house on my own. I spent my time engrossed in online horror stories and nonfiction accounts of frightening encounters to distract myself from my own personal pain, to the point where it was detrimental to my own well-being. To combat these anxieties I started painting horror scenes based on primal fears of mine, and discovered that it was communicating something else entirely - bereavement. Domestic Demons takes the allegories featured in horror stories and uses the concept of the home invasion, the intruder and the monster lurking under the bed as analogous for the processes we go through when trying to make sense of deep-seated emotional pain.