Ann-Marie Williamson

Ann-Marie Williamson

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Degree: MA Fine Art
University: University of East London
Graduation Year: 2024

New Blood Art Commentary

Ann-Marie Williamson’s art intertwines painting and textiles, focusing on themes of identity, memory, and the human condition. Her use of fabric, often repurposed, evokes a sense of nostalgia and impermanence, resonating with the wabi-sabi aesthetic. Techniques like patching and embroidery symbolise healing and preservation, highlighting beauty in mending and imperfection. Each piece reflects on memory’s layered and transient nature, inviting viewers to appreciate the delicate balance between salvaging and transforming our past. Williamson’s work is a poignant exploration of the emotional and sensory qualities of textiles, celebrating the imperfect and the transient.

Artist Statement

Within my practice I cross between painting and textiles to create works that harness the emotive potential of fabric to explore themes of identity, memory, and human conditions.

A core exploration is the concept that cloth - being intimately connected to the body - possesses the capacity to retain memories and carries the potential to evoke emotional responses through sensory cues such as scent, texture, and visual appearance. Fabric, as a medium, possesses a unique capacity for emotive expression, which I believe exceeds that of other art mediums. Unlike traditional mediums such as paint or clay, fabric can be worn, bearing the imprint of its wearer and showcasing signs of wear - such as thinning areas, stains, and smells embedded within its fibres. Clothing specifically can possess the power to stir poignant memories. These memories can range from joyful to traumatic to seemingly insignificant, but they are all inherently transient, particularly as memory tends to fade with time.

Each work symbolises a collection of experiences or a single moment in time. To preserve positive memories, I employ textile repair techniques such as patching. For healing from traumatic experiences, I use embroidery to create fabric "scabs" that cover the wounds and facilitate healing beneath. Holes are mended with a darning stitch, and especially distressing memories are layered over with paper and paint as a means of repression and forgetting. Working predominantly with domestic textiles, clothing and waste fabrics, the pieces are formed organically, instinctively pieced together and directed by process. By layering, disrupting and re-patching, a composition emerges.

As a result of this process, the works often exhibit characteristics of incompleteness, prompting contemplation on the concept of preservation—how to retain memories, repair what's broken and ultimately ask the question - how far can something be salvaged until it becomes transformed beyond recognition?


Group Exhibitions

(2024) Both Sides Now, Way Out East Gallery, London

(2024) Cluster, London Craft Week, London

(2024) Non-Bio, Old Lightwell Gallery, London

(2024) IN/OUT, Hive Curates, London

(2024) Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, 83 Goldsmiths Row, London

(2023) Stirrings Still, Peckham Safehouse, London

Competitions, Prizes & Awards

(2023) University of East London MA Scholarship

(2024) New Blood Art Emerging Art Prize - Nominee

(2024) Partnership Editions Open Call Winner