Well hello there, my dear - you’re looking particularly magnificent today!

If you’re in the mood to turn ‘different’ into ‘downright fabulous’ by filling your home with works of art that feel like they reflect the real you, then this is exactly where you need to be.

Here at Elinor Trier Studio I create art - mostly paintings, but also writing and film and more - for those of us who feel out of step with the rest of world.

Around here we celebrate, no, GLORIFY difference and diversity. Because you deserve to be reminded that you’re not the ‘odd one out’, you’re ‘one of a kind’, especially when you’re in your own home.

meet elinor

So who is the fabulous glittery bitch behind this glorious endeavour?

Well, that would be me - I’m Elinor (but you can call me Eli - or Zuzu, if you’re nasty). I’m an AuDHD and neuroqueer artist, writer, podcaster, YouTuber, dopamine dealer, and the founder of Elinor Trier Studio and Zuzu's Haus of Cats.

I’ve always felt like a bit of a human non sequitur (think Tina Belcher crossed with Divine, with a dollop of Leonor Fini thrown in for good measure), and I spent many years utterly baffled by… well, pretty much everything - people, jobs, society, the (totally arbitrary, nonsensical, and unspoken) ‘rules’ that everyone else seemed to just know.

It wasn’t until I became a certified weirdo by getting an official autism diagnosis in my mid-thirties that my life started to actually make sense.

In the almost-decade since that momentous occasion I have not only come to terms with my differences, I now celebrate them. I am so proud to be who I am, and whilst my wonky brain is undeniably disabling at times, it is also the source of my power, my creativity, and my ability to connect with you. 

To reach the top of this particular mountain I’ve had to unravel and unlearn everything I thought I knew about myself and the world and my place in it, and I’ve done that, in large part, through my art.

Why I make the art I make

As an artist with a passion for storytelling, I am fascinated by the human experience and how it relates to my own unique perspective.

As a neurodivergent person, my art is steeped in my experience of otherness. To put it another way, my experience of the world is probably quite different from yours, and I use my artwork to try to bridge that gap and find the common ground between us. My work is rich in personal mythology with symbols such as flowers and cats recurring throughout.

Through my work, I explore what it means to be human using my own ‘outsider’ status as a lens and point of comparison. I believe in the beauty of ‘brokenness’, and that to be human is to exist in states from the sublime to the ridiculous.

While my work may deal with traumatic events and emotions I also incorporate elements of nonsense and silliness, recognizing the profundity that can be found in humour and levity. By combining beauty, metaphor, and playfulness in my work I strive to create art that provokes a sense of lightheartedness and joy.

Colour is everything to me and I am obsessed with the physicality of paint. I’m endlessly inspired by the qualities of the materials I use, and am always searching for new and interesting ways to make marks and create texture. My work is richly layered, with each layer of paint informing the next, and my finished pieces are sensuously tactile with a texture that begs to be touched.

I BELIEVE:

  • That beauty is transformative
  • That the objects we surround ourselves with hold enormous power
  • That art has the capacity to heal and connect us
  • That we’re stronger in community
  • That diversity, in all its forms, is both necessary and magical
  • That we all deserve the same rights and privileges, regardless of gender, sexuality, neurotype, race, creed, colour, body size, occupation, or anything else
  • That you are spectacular