Liz West makes intensely coloured installation, video and photographic works from arrangements of found materials and consumer goods. In the work objects are densely arranged in orders or enclosed within constructed spaces, such as cupboards and shelves or in containers such as shopping trolleys and cabinets to form compacted colour masses or gradations.
West is interested in the aesthetic of densely packed and richly coloured arrangements and displays found in shops, markets and museums. In her work, she creates sensory experiences in the form of richly saturated installations that immerse the viewer in a kaleidoscopic or optical environment.
Systems of ordering, classification and coding are applied in the development and generation of work. Boundaries are established, which determine both what is collected and where it is collected from. West continually searches and collects coloured objects ranging throughout the spectrum. Only purely coloured objects are gathered, disallowing any items that were made of more than one colour. West is interested in the intense and concentrated colour found in synthetic materials and in artificial light. West is concerned with the psychological influence of colour, its effect and sensory impact upon the viewer.
Liz West was born in Manchester in 1985. She graduated from the Glasgow School of Art in 2007, where she studied BA (Hons) Sculpture and Environmental Art. Last year West was shortlisted for the London Photography Award and also the prestigious Northern Futures Awards, winning the People’s Choice Award. West was recently shortlisted for the Woolgather Art Prize in Leeds and selected for Expectations exhibition in New York as well as the Celeste Art Prize. She has exhibited in the CUBE Open, Centre for the Urban Built Environment Manchester and in the Pedder Photography Exhibition, Bigger Picture Gallery London. Other exhibitions include Ambience of Play; Greenroom Manchester, At Play 3; South Hill Park Arts Centre, Collagerie; Stew Gallery Norwich, Reduction; Broadcasting House Leeds and Colour; Beldam Gallery London.
All images © 2011 Liz West. All rights reserved.