Alice Blackstock
Alice Blackstock. Can you draw a river? Woven deconstructed cotton and linen shirts on a copper bar, 4 x 2.5 meters, 2024. Photograph by Mirko Boffelli.
Alice Blackstock. Woven river. Cotton yarn woven on a shaped tapestry loom, 30 x 20 cm, 2023-24. Photograph by Eva Herzog.
Alice Blackstock. Fish out of water (brown trout and salmon). Machine knitted vintage linen with hand appliquéd fabric details.
Alice Blackstock. Teaching to learn and learning to teach – a cabinet of curiosity. Repurposed fishing box with different textile responses representing teaching methods and pedagogy.
Alice Blackstock. Little Tesco. Machine knitted cotton with French darning details.
Alice Blackstock. Sketchbook page with textile responses. Watercolour illustration 2022.
Alice Blackstock. The Disappeared. Machine knitted cotton yarn.
Alice Blackstock. The Disappeared (1 of 36). Machine knitted cotton yarn.
Artist statement
I am a practicing textile artist and educator from Belfast. I work at London South East Colleges as a Textile Tutor. I moved to London to undertake an MA in knitted textiles at the Royal College of Art where I received the Orla Kiely Scholarship (2016-18). My work has been acquired by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland public art collection and I have been funded to undertake a number of textile and drawing based projects. In 2024 I was commissioned as lead artist for the charity Drawing Voices to make a collaborative work with the dementia community. This work was displayed in the Drawing Room in London.
My work is concerned with capturing serendipity, lived human experiences and making visual statements that give a voice to the unheard. I apply a range of processes including knitting, weaving and embroidery, making work that is soft and nostalgic while also being challenging and emotional. I’m not interested in ambiguity, elitism or exclusive artwork and believe that the power of art and craft is its ability to encourage further conversations. I often layer my work with film or spoken word narratives, letting viewers into my concept, reasons and process.
My practice has a two pronged approach. One aspect sees me working in a socially engaged way creating participatory, community focused work with the dementia community. I design and felicitate the creation of artworks that challenge viewers to reflect on the stigmas that exist about dementia. Working with the dementia community is my vocation but it is only made possible by having a playful, narrative and lighthearted aspect to my practice. This sees me learning new skills and textile techniques and applying them to stories and everyday observations.
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