Without a doubt there is a big difference between seeing a work of art in a picture than in person. It's definitely a completely different experience, as most of you will probably know. Today I was excited to head off to Old Street in London to just do this. I went to see the natural experiments of Alice Fox in person after having experienced the joy of gaze through pages of her new book, Natural Processes in Textile Art. Old Street is a quirky area near Shoreditch where a lot of up and coming artists happen to express their artistic flair, most notably Banksy. Her exhibition took place at the Society of Designer Craftsmen.
Photo credit: Alice Fox
I was excited because I had previously interviewed Alice Fox for an article just recently published on the autumn issue of No Serial Number e-Magazine so it was the chance for me to meet the artist in person. When I entered the room I was soon immersed in the artist's works and overwhelmed by their beauty. (You can find out where she will be exhibiting next here).
Photo credit: Alice Fox
What I found most interesting is the three-dimensional cubes made of hand-stitched leaves. During our telephone interview, Alice had mentioned that she recently started experimenting with three-dimensional shapes so I was especially curious to actually see what she meant. I have to say the result is absolutely stunning and breath-taking. To me, this circle of cubes really captures vividly the seasonal changes and cycle of nature. It is very interesting to see what can be done with simple materials such as leaves and threads painstakingly stitched together. Also what I like is that her works really respect and elaborate on the natural shapes of the materials used, in her words
testing out the possibilities of natural materials readily available and gathered on walks
.
Photo credit: Alice Fox
One of the issues with using natural materials is often their durability. Concerning this Alice explains that the leaf materials are not treated in any other way other than careful drying. She adds,
if these pieces are kept protected, dry and away from direct sunlight they should remain stable for a long time. They will slowly change, just as any natural material will. They will gradually become more brittle and the colours will fade
.
Photo credit: Alice Fox
During my visit to the exhibition Alice told me that she will run a workshop in June during the From Earth to Textile exhibition (in the UK). I look forward to being there!
Photo credit: Alice Fox
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I interviewed Alice Fox back in June 2015 for the Autumn Issue of No Serial Number.
Find this issue online here.
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The article was originally posted here.