Hey! Welcome!
My name is Christiane Shillito (she/they) and I'm a British artist and illustrator currently based out of Los Angeles, CA.
I was raised in a working-class family in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England. The first in my family to go to University, I got my BSc in Biology from Durham before moving to London to instead pursue a career as a fetish, avant-garde and nude art model under the stage name Ulorin Vex. I was heavily involved in the London and European fetish scenes in the early 2000s and then later relocated to Los Angeles, CA. After modeling and performing professionally for over 15 years I decided it was time to redirect more of my creative energy towards my artwork.
I usually paint fierce assertive women and/or gender variant characters with a dark psychedelic or erotic surreal edge, often using occult and body horror metaphors with a focus on themes of identity and sexuality, processing trauma, transformation and neurodivergence.
Many of my models are sex-workers or adjacent artists and performers who I met through modeling. My work is also heavily inspired by other things I am interested in, such as retro sci-fi and fantasy art, alchemy and mythology/folklore, natural history and early 20th century poster illustrations.
Most recently, I have become interested in the concept of Memento Mori and the Death Positive Movement and plan to explore this further in my work. Much of what I create is quite personal and often cathartic, reflecting an amalgamation of my interests, personal experiences, emotions and dreams.
Image & bodypaint by Paul Roustan
You can check out my latest news and posts over on the What’s New page or my fledgling newsletter blog at Substack. If you’re interested in my creative process and having a sneak preview of current works in progress, my Instagram is also a good place for that sort of thing!
Thank you for taking the time to look!