Artist Highlight - Alice Liptrot

1. Your work builds sculptural surfaces through thousands of punch needle loops. How does repetition function as both a structural and conceptual element in Vessels 001?

Structurally, repetition is essential. Without continually punching loops, the piece would feel sparse, with gaps and inconsistencies across the surface. The accumulation of loops builds density, allowing the canvas to hold more depth and texture as well as the subtle shifts in tone across the piece.

Conceptually, repetition speaks to accumulation and holding. In Vessels 001, each loop contributes to a sense of containment, suggesting not just what the vessel looks like (slightly wobbly), but how much it holds. The labour itself becomes a quiet measure of that capacity.

2. From a distance, the form appears minimal and graphic, yet close viewing reveals dense fields of labour. How important is this shift in perception to the experience of the work?

This shift in perception is central to how the work is experienced. From a distance, the piece appears clean and minimal. But as the viewer moves closer, the texture of the surface and the thousands of loops that construct it become visible.

The act of taking time to look more closely reveals both the time embedded in the work and its physical making. I’m also interested in how this mirrors our reading of people. From afar, we see what is presented, but with a closer look, complexity, emotion and the unseen become visible.

3. The series references vases, urns, and domestic receptacles. What drew you to the idea of the vessel as a form through which to explore containment and memory?

The vessel symbolises numerous things through history and across cultures. I’m drawn to its constancy. I approach it through a woman’s perspective. Vessels become a way to think about what is held: emotionally, physically and socially. As women we are often expected to hold a great deal: care, responsibility, work, housework, both visible and invisible. The vessel becomes a quiet metaphor for that capacity and for the accumulation of memory over time.

4. Textile practices have historically been associated with invisible or undervalued labour. How does Vessels 001 attempt to make this labour physically visible through material and process?

Textile practices have long been seen as ‘women work’, often carried out in domestic spaces and historically undervalued. Much of this work has remained unseen, despite the time, skill, patience and care it takes.

In Vessels 001, I wanted to bring this invisible practice to visibility without making it overt. The work's colour and composition are subtle, appearing simple at first glance. But on closer inspection, the tonal shifts, irregularities and texture of the surface celebrate the handmade.

The accumulation of yarn and the repetition required to form each loop make the labour present, allowing it to be recognised rather than overlooked.

5. Your work uses Romney yarn sourced from the Kent marshes. How does the local origin of the material shape the conceptual framework of the piece?

I think there is something beautiful in using materials that are local and minimally processed. Romney yarn allows me to work with a material with a direct relationship to place - the sheep, the land and the processes that bring it into being workable for me.

Using undyed yarn gives me a restrained colour palette while allowing the material to remain close to its origin. It also challenges expectations of what such a humble, familiar material can become.

6. Punch needle is often associated with domestic craft traditions. In what ways are you interested in repositioning this technique within a contemporary art context?

I am interested in pushing the punch needle technique beyond its associations with decoration or hobby-based craft, and instead using it as a method for building textural, conceptual surfaces.

By playing with scale, repetition and pile height, I treat the technique less as embellishment and more as a form of mark making. This shift allows it to sit within a contemporary art context where process, about and material become central to the work’s meaning rather than secondary to it.

7. Texture and depth play a central role in your work. How do you approach building surface so that time and gesture remain legible within the finished piece?

I build the surface slowly, changing pile depth and distance between each loop depending on the height I want the loop to be. The intention isn’t to create a perfectly uniform finish, but to let this variation and irregularity weave through the fabric to create more texture.

The subtle inconsistencies from the rhythm of the hand and the passing of time records the process, where accumulation and imperfection keep the process visible within the work.

8. Within The Invisible Made Visible, your work highlights the devotion embedded in slow making. What aspects of the process do you most want viewers to become aware of when encountering the piece?

I would like the viewers to become aware of the time held within the work. The quiet, repetitive labour that builds the surface.

There’s also an attention to material; the weight of the yarn, the variation in pile height to form the subtle layering of textures, the subtle shifts in tone. These elements ask for a slower kind of looking.

Ultimately, I hope the work encourages a recognition of care, both in the act of making and in a history which has largely overlooked textiles as an art form and bringing visibility to something that is often overlooked.