NIAH MCGIFF

Born in 1999, Niah McGiff is a London-based artist whose paintings and poems explore human desire, yearning, and compromise. Drawing inspiration from the language of water, she creates images where bodies and environments appear unstable. Through a surreal approach to figuration, her work reflects on how we see ourselves, one another, and reality itself in an age where screens constantly reshape our sense of connection, and where many long for depth yet find themselves wading in the shallows.

She trained at the Essential School of Painting, graduating with distinction from the Foundation Diploma in 2019, and went on to study Fine Art at Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts London.

Currently, Niah is working on curating and organising a group fine art exhibition to be held on 21st November 2025. The opening night will be at 6-9 PM on the 21st and general admission from 21st Nov - 5th Dec - Pixel & Flesh.

Her work has been shown in and co-curated group exhibitions including ESOP Summer Show (2019, 2023), ILLASOUL UK x Extinction Rebellion (2019), Divergence (2019), Mind the Gap (2021), The Animal Arts Space - Virtual Exhibition (2025), CollectArts - Autumn Magazine (2025), CistaArts - Entangled Geographies (2025), Spira9 - Everything Then is Now (in partnership with The London Design Festival and Frieze, 2025)

Artist Statement 

Niah grew up in England with a mixed heritage, navigating life within a predominantly white environment. Her work reflects on the complexities of belonging; not only in relation to personal identity, but also within broader contexts of digital culture, politics, and emotional life. She explores the spaces we inhabit, the ways we seek connection, and the challenges of navigating a multifaceted identity.

She is also deeply interested in psychological and scientific theories surrounding the mind, emotion, and the human drive to express. Central to this inquiry is the concept of the explanatory gap, a term coined by philosopher Joseph Levine to describe the limitations of physical theory in accounting for the richness of subjective experience.

Niah’s practice seeks to bridge this divide, to reach across the space between inner experience and outer expression. Through experimental and intuitive processes, she explores how diverse mediums and visual languages might articulate what is otherwise ineffable.

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