Lizzie Henson

Artist Statement

Through materiality, the physicality of colour, and line, I intend to create works that have a sense of motion and presence. Juxtapositions in scale, weight, and pace provide the viewer with tactile and sensory pieces with an impact. Confronting the viewer with intangible spaces that make you question not who you are but where you are through tonality and surface. Reducing the number of elements within my work means I have more awareness of the materials I use. Practicing intuition and spontaneity to create pieces that cannot be replicated requires playing with the known and the unknown. The fluid nature of my practice means I am not working towards meeting a resolution but instead capturing movement in something that is static through the flow of the ink, dye, and my body moving.

From serene applications of colour to blocked out spaces and dramatic gestures, my work aims to create arresting metaphorical spaces with notions of trace and physicality. The definitive rectangles in my pieces amplifies my exploration of control and uncontrol by contrasting neat edges against loose gestures. I achieve different levels of noise through interactions between the gradients of colour, size, and placement. The quiet translucency and tone of the drafting paper alongside loud, solid blocks of inked canvas portray portal like spaces playing with the psychological and the physical. These tensions within my practice all come down to my choices in material, colour, and line.