Liz Elton MRSS

Liz’s work begins in painting, moving into the expanded field to explore the potential of waste and the recycling of matter.  Much of her work is made using compostable cornstarch food waste recycling bags as a ground (themselves made from crops such as corn or potatoes), coloured with water miscible oils and vegetable dyes from kitchen waste, sewn together with silk and embedded with seeds, dust and waste.  Often site specific or site responsive, the resulting works are light and floating and move as the air moves around them, so may mimic a tide going in and out as people walk past or appear to breathe in the wake of a breeze or air conditioning.  The material is designed with the intention to disappear, embracing its own ephemerality and demise. As the work ages it accumulates damage allowing new views of its environment and taking on new forms. 

The work is different each time it is shown.  The material is skin-like, and becomes brittle and delicate with age.  Many of the dyes are soft pinks, browns and yellows, with occasional blues so some works appear bruised.  A recent residency in Latvia provided opportunities for installations in derelict buildings, in particular a 19th century hospital, in which the work has taken on resonances relating to care, hope and time.

Liz has a BA from Wimbledon and an MA from Chelsea.  Her work has been shown widely and is held in public and private collections in the UK and internationally.