Please join us on Tuesday 14 October, 6-8pm for the launch of Sentient Beings by Sophie McElligott published by New Dimensions.
"These notebook drawings were made over a week in the summer, on the train to and from work, and later coloured in. They capture small moments - snippets of conversation in the office, on a bench, at a friend’s house, and in a pub - set against reflections on empathy and nature in an age shaped by technology.
Many drawings include babies and children, whose unfiltered playfulness contrasts with the pressures of social media, shaping self-esteem, impulsivity, and anxiety. I’m interested in how cognitive and emotional empathy differ, how we regulate emotions, and how empathy mimicry helps us form social bonds.
How should an adult witnessing joy and despair simultaneously balance emotions?
Drawing is an act of thinking, helping me make sense of recurring thoughts. Sentient Beings explores how we notice, interpret, and respond to each other, and how small acts of attention and care remain central to being human."
Sophie McElligott is a London-based painter and illustrator who turns fleeting thoughts,
frustrations, and absurd moments into quick, impulsive sketches. Her work blends humour, social observation, and autobiographical flashes - unguarded, playful, and tragicomic. She has collaborated with Celeste, Harley Weir, Ferdinando Verderi and Dilara Findikoglu, exhibited at 0fr. Paris, and been featured in Vogue Italia, Dazed, AnOther, The Plant, Ton, Pop, 10 Magazine, SHOWstudio, Teen Vogue, It’s Nice That, Hypebeast and W Magazine.