Asheley Elizabeth

Asheley Elizabeth is a full time artist, trained in Toronto, Canada (B.F.A. 2001), with her studio based in Christchurch, New Zealand. Asheley works in an Organic/Abstract style, with innovative material methods & combinations. As always, her influence is taken from the natural & macro worlds- focusing on the study of form: it's play of light & shadow, capturing the moving interactions of components through abstraction.

Statement:

Usually inspired by an object from nature, I’ll break that down into its visual layers: form; movement; depth; luminosity & shadow..and also its hidden layers: cellular; arterial or skeletal.
I like to switch these layers around in my minds eye: have them interact in a way I haven’t seen before.
After sketching it out, I then create a paper maquette: making forms of light & shadow: feeling how an idea grows & holds itself in space as I walk around it.
I’m reaching for a resolution of sorts: when something clicks inside me & I feel at peace: like we’re having a harmonious conversation without distraction.

I mainly work in reclaimed NZ timber & repurposed acrylic. I usually cut & carve the wood so it can be the foundation for the acrylic: then I shape & form the acrylic, as a movement around or with the wood. There are so many dichotomies represented in these materials: natural vs. synthetic; warm vs. neutral; physical vs. ethereal.

I get the most joy out of a work when I’ve pushed my ideas & materials into a space I’ve not experienced before. I may have many influences, but I want a unique voice looking back at me, teaching me about myself & being a mirror for others in the same way.