Drawing from the aesthetics of 18th Century portraiture and in particular, familial portraits, Toni Messiter’s paintings embody modern baroque haunting. There is a stylistic affinity for theatrics which dramatically unfold as ruminations on human psychology and subconscious; presenting subjects that border upon absurdity and delight, provocation and enchantment. For her new series 'Don’t Let Her In', the works embrace and celebrate girlhood and the concept of age rather than its denial, depicting fragments of memory, characters and episodes of my past.