Psychologically Speaking with Leila Ainge
Aug 17, 2026 · 4 min · 6 segments
What if a room could become a self-portrait? This week in the Reflection Room, psychologist and researcher **Leila Ainge** pairs a painting by **Lottie Cole** with a simple but thought-provoking…
Leila AingeHost
We often think of self-portraits as photos, paintings, or more recently, selfies of faces.
Portraits are really fascinating to study in galleries because they've been posed or staged.
And I always want to know what was the purpose of this portrait? I went to see the John Singer Sargent exhibition a few years ago and I was amazed at the way in which his portraiture could elevate a social status of the sitter or the person who had commissioned the art.
Now, psychologists have long recognised that our environments influence how we think, how we feel and behave.
The places that we spend our days really reinforce our routines, our values, and also the ways of seeing the world.
In Lottie's interior work, the rooms are empty of people, but they are filled with everyday objects.
And often when you look through the window in Lottie's pictures, you'll see either a season or a bird or something.
In the image that I've selected, which is potting shed goals, there is gardening tools waiting to be picked up again.
We often think of self-portraits as photos, paintings, or more recently, selfies of faces.
Portraits are really fascinating to study in galleries because they've been posed or staged.
And I always want to know what was the purpose of this portrait? I went to see the John Singer Sargent exhibition a few years ago and I was amazed at the way in which his portraiture could elevate a social status of the sitter or the person who had commissioned the art.
Now, psychologists have long recognised that our environments influence how we think, how we feel and behave.
The places that we spend our days really reinforce our routines, our values, and also the ways of seeing the world.
In Lottie's interior work, the rooms are empty of people, but they are filled with everyday objects.
And often when you look through the window in Lottie's pictures, you'll see either a season or a bird or something.
In the image that I've selected, which is potting shed goals, there is gardening tools waiting to be picked up again.
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