The stories we don’t tell

To mark Rembrandt’s 420th birthday we have invited artist Siris Hill to the Rembrandt room to share how the Dutch painter inspired his practice. Following the talk, Siris will present works from his series ‘Ordinary’ in the Welcome Space of the Roden Centre for Creative Learning.

Siris Hill is a digital painter whose practice centres around challenging assumptions about people living with mental health conditions, and his unique 3D printing technology brings new perspectives to digital art. This event will be over of two parts, with Hill reflecting on his journey and formation as an artist in reference to Rembrandt’s portraiture works - followed by sharing examples from his series ‘Ordinary’ alongside tactile samples of the printing in an interactive showcase of his work.

Join us to think about the power of art to introduce us to people, represent lives very different from our own, and change our perspectives.

Through his project 'Ordinary', Hill creates portrait paintings as vignettes of people frequently seen through the lens of diagnoses or social marginalisation, reclaiming their stories from reductive narratives. His work uses the visual language of 17th-century genre painting, translating classical techniques into digital media to assert a contemporary social and moral framework, representing marginalised people with dignity and depth.

Hill’s process is both rigorous and ethically engaged: subjects are co-authors of their representation, with agency embedded in the creation and reception of each portrait, ensuring that the finished pieces reflect lived experience rather than imposed interpretation. In doing so, Hill exposes the power dynamics historically encoded in portraiture while creating a space where dignity is a default, not a reward.

Drawing from his own experiences of chronic illness, trauma, and homelessness, Hill situates his practice at the intersection of personal history, social critique, and art historical dialogue. His work has been exhibited internationally, including solo and group shows in London and New York, and a solo exhibition at Fairhurst Gallery, Norwich (2019–2020). Hill holds a BA in Fine Art from Norwich University of the Arts (2018).

Dr Maryanne Saunders is the Howard and Roberta Ahmanson Fellow in Art and Religion at the National Gallery and lecturer at King’s College London. Her research at the Gallery concerns visual depictions of the ancestry of Christ, particularly his grandmother, St Anne.