Ellie Hawkes United Kingdom
Ellie Hawkes is a Yorkshire-based contemporary artist whose interdisciplinary practice explores the relationship between nature, technology and memory. Working across photography, digital imaging, printmaking and installation, she creates immersive works that celebrate the transient beauty of the natural world.
My practice explores the relationship between the natural world and technology, using photography, digital imaging and printmaking to investigate how fleeting moments in nature can be preserved and reimagined. Working primarily with foraged flowers, plants and organic materials, I create layered photographic works that transform ephemeral forms into immersive installations and sculptural objects.
Through scanning, photography and digital processes, I record specimens at moments of transition before translating them into physical works on Perspex and other materials. Transparency, colour and light play a central role in the work, allowing images to shift throughout the day as they cast shadows, move with the environment and encourage changing perspectives.
Recent public exhibitions have deepened my interest in how audiences experience the work. Conversations with visitors have revealed unexpected interpretations and highlighted the emotional connections people form with nature, memory and place. These encounters have prompted me to think more deeply about accessibility, personal narratives and the ways contemporary art can create moments of reflection, curiosity and joy.
My current research focuses on expanding the material language of my practice through experimentation with alternative photographic and printmaking processes. By combining digital technologies with analogue methods, I aim to continue exploring the relationship between permanence and impermanence, questioning how contemporary image-making can preserve the beauty of seasonal change while opening new possibilities for interaction, participation and connection.
Artwork
Portfolio of Works, 2020 - 2026