Isabel Fletcher

Isabel Fletcher

About

Isabel Fletcher is a London based mixed media artist whose work develops out of an expanded approach to textiles. Working with a broad range of found material offcuts, Isabel’s practice takes inspiration from often overlooked and undervalued details in life by working through the chaos of waste. Isabel aims to contradict the perceptions and perceived value of the disregarded in order to encourage a closer observation and appreciation of the world around us. She employs varied processes in working with offcuts, which perform both surface-based and structural interventions, constantly developing and expanding these to suit the  materials worked with. 

Isabel has collaborated with brands such as Kvadrat and TOAST, using their offcuts as the starting point for further design. She has presented work in both solo and group exhibitions, including the Design Museum’s Waste Age exhibition.

Statement

Clay Project

Pull apart and separate.

Transport and displace.  

The slow build-up formed over millennia.

Gridded, unearthed and exposed.

The purpose of this project has been to challenge myself with the discomfort of the unknown – resisting the urge to resolve and conclude. Through working with an unfamiliar material such as London clay, I have been able to question my usual methodologies and reassess the processes that have become habitual in my practice.

The clay is a waste product of the building industry, excavated when foundations are dug. I am often drawn to the aesthetics of things that lie beneath the surface and explore this conceptually through my practice. For example, responding to on-site research, I have drawn parallels between the excavated clay and an eroding landfill.

I am interested in the extraction and displacement of materials that form the built environment and our disconnection from their nuances and beauty.

Process