Lauren Matley

I am an undergraduate student in my final year of the Fine Art program at the University of Salford.

I have almost 5 years of experience in full-time education specializing in art, but have travelled everywhere with a sketchbook and pen since I was a child.

When I was younger I was extremely shy, and so I’ve always found creating art to be a recording of my surroundings, feelings and beliefs in a way that really scratches the itch of self expression.

This use of artistic expression has continued into adulthood, and is relevant today in the tackling of identity/sexuality issues I may face, as well as feelings of helplessness and confusion towards the world, in which I cannot put into words.

I like to think of my approach to my art practice as being multidisciplinary, however, my artistic roots stem from painting. I have developed a multimedia understanding of working, and now currently prefer to create fluidly, moving between multiple practices at once.

Furthermore, I tend stray from the binaries of single media-based processes as I can sometimes find it to be a limiting way of working, and therefore conflicting with my themes and ideas. I also simply enjoy the idea of building multiple skills and having an open-minded approach to building my practice.

For example, I'm currently creating both digital and physical collages, sublimation printing, and producing work specializing in fiber art - specifically felting and embroidery.