Jude Wainwright

Biography

Born in Sheffield, Jude Wainwright MAFA is a figurative and surrealist painter based in Manchester. Her work explores identity, emotion and storytelling through staged, symbolic self-portraits that blur the line between the real and the imagined. Drawing on theatrical gesture, costume and surreal settings, she examines how we construct and conceal the self, reflecting on the boundaries between authenticity, performance and control.

Alongside her practice, Jude is the Studio Manager at AWOL Studios in Ancoats, where she supports a large community of artists and creatives. In 2022, she reached the semi-finals of Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year, and in 2025 returned to Sky Arts as a guest presenter, leading two Portrait Artist Masterclass episodes on narrative portraiture.

Statement

Self-portraiture forms the basis of Jude’s practice. Through staged, symbolic self-portraits, she explores identity, emotion and storytelling, creating work that blurs the line between the real and the imagined.

Drawing on theatrical gesture, costume and surreal settings, Jude examines how we construct and conceal the self, reflecting on the boundaries between authenticity, performance and control.

Her work explores the relationship between the constructed image and the self, using symbolism and narrative to create imagined worlds in which personal experience can be transformed and reinterpreted.